| Sumario: | Purpose Ageing has increased considerably in recent years. Older adults and those with disabilities who are unable to move on their own require assistance in moving from bed to other places. The purpose of this study is to develop a system that allows safe and comfortable transfer of patients in facilities, such as, general hospitals and nursing hospitals, with a minimum number of nursing staff. Method The essential function of a patient-transfer robot is to move a patient from one place to another. To accomplish this, we developed a mobile platform (Seo et al., 2014; Kim & Seo, 2017) with two steering wheels that enabled the robot to move omnidirectionally. A hoist module with two motors was developed to lift the patient, as shown in Figure 1. Using the two-motor hoist mechanism, we aimed to change the patient's posture. In addition, to minimize the sway of the patient, the hoist employed a smart wire system that reduced the sway through a mechanism that changed the flexible wire to rigid. To transfer patients with different disorders safely, different types of slings suitable for each condition have been developed. In addition, an active safety system for a transfer robot was developed with a collision avoidance system and roll-over prevention system. The collision avoidance system used ultrasonic sensors to detect obstacles in the direction of travel and had an automatic braking function to prevent collisions. The rollover prevention system measured the inclination of the road surface on which the robots transferred the patients. If the inclination was higher than a given threshold, it prevented rollover by issuing a warning. Normal function implementation and usability were confirmed the performance evaluation of the prototype. Results and discussion To demonstrate the performance of the developed robotic system, several tests were conducted at the Orthopedics & Rehabilitation Engineering Center, an accredited testing institution in Korea. The test items were as follows: maximum lift weight of the patient (< 130 kg); lift speed (< 60 mm/s); weight measurement accuracy (95%); sway control performance while driving (±2°); collision and rollover warning (95% success ratio); and noise (< 65 dB). The test confirmed that all functions were operating normally and that the quantitative goal was achieved. This study presented the outcomes of the patient-transfer robot development. A mobile platform, hoisting module, and sling system for wrapping the patient were developed to meet the essential requirements of the patient-transfer robot. Although the current system focuses on the realization of functions as a prototype, future research for usability evaluation and design improvement for commercialization is planned.
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