Browsing by Author "Akbas, Baris"

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Citation - WoS: 3
Citation - Scopus: 4
The Impact of Evolutionary Computation on Robotic Design: a Case Study With an Underactuated Hand Exoskeleton
(Ieee, 2024) Akbas, Baris; Yuksel, Huseyin Taner; Soylemez, Aleyna; Zyada, Mazhar Eid; Sarac, Mine; Stroppa, Fabio
Robotic exoskeletons can enhance human strength and aid people with physical disabilities. However, designing them to ensure safety and optimal performance presents significant challenges. Developing exoskeletons should incorporate specific optimization algorithms to find the best design. This study investigates the potential of Evolutionary Computation (EC) methods in robotic design optimization, with an underactuated hand exoskeleton (U-HEx) used as a case study. We propose improving the performance and usability of the U-HEx design, which was initially optimized using a naive brute-force approach, by integrating EC techniques such as Genetic Algorithm and Big Bang-Big Crunch Algorithm. Comparative analysis revealed that EC methods consistently yield more precise and optimal solutions than brute force in a significantly shorter time. This allowed us to improve the optimization by increasing the number of variables in the design, which was impossible with naive methods. The results show significant improvements in terms of the torque magnitude the device transfers to the user, enhancing its efficiency. These findings underline the importance of performing proper optimization while designing exoskeletons, as well as providing a significant improvement to this specific robotic design.
Enhanced Design of a Hand Exoskeleton: Balancing Force Transmission and Actuation with Evolutionary Algorithms
(IEEE-INST Electrical Electronics Engineers INC, 2025) Akbas, Baris; Yuksel, Huseyin Taner; Soylemez, Aleyna; Sarac, Mine; Stroppa, Fabio
Exoskeletons can boost human strength and provide assistance to individuals with physical disabilities. However, ensuring safety and optimal performance in their design poses substantial challenges. This study addresses significant challenges of ensuring safety and maximizing performance in the design process for an underactuated hand exoskeleton intended for physical rehabilitation. We first implemented a single objective optimization problem by maximizing force transmission from the actuator to the finger joints, then expanded into multi-objective optimization by also minimizing the variance of torques rendered on the finger joints and the actuator displacement needed. The optimization relies on a Genetic Algorithm, the Big Bang-Big Crunch Algorithm, and their versions for multi-objective optimization. Our simulation results and statistical analyses revealed that using Big Bang-Big Crunch provides high and more consistent results in terms of optimality with lower convergence time. In addition, adding more objectives offers a variety of trade-off solutions to the designers, who might later set priorities for the objectives without repeating the process - at the cost of complicating the optimization algorithm and computational burden. These findings underline the critical importance of performing proper optimization techniques while designing exoskeletons, as well as providing a significant improvement to this specific robotic design that could provide more effective rehabilitation therapies and augmented human-robot interactions.
Citation - WoS: 11
Citation - Scopus: 13
Optimizing Exoskeleton Design with Evolutionary Computation: An Intensive Survey
(Mdpi, 2023) Stroppa, Fabio; Soylemez, Aleyna; Yuksel, Huseyin Taner; Akbas, Baris; Sarac, Mine
Exoskeleton devices are designed for applications such as rehabilitation, assistance, and haptics. Due to the nature of physical human-machine interaction, designing and operating these devices is quite challenging. Optimization methods lessen the severity of these challenges and help designers develop the device they need. In this paper, we present an extensive and systematic literature search on the optimization methods used for the mechanical design of exoskeletons. We completed the search in the IEEE, ACM, and MDPI databases between 2017 and 2023 using the keywords exoskeleton, design, and optimization. We categorized our findings in terms of which limb (i.e., hand, wrist, arm, or leg) and application (assistive, rehabilitation, or haptic) the exoskeleton was designed for, the optimization metrics (force transmission, workspace, size, and adjustability/calibration), and the optimization method (categorized as evolutionary computation or non-evolutionary computation methods). We discuss our observations with respect to how the optimization methods have been implemented based on our findings. We conclude our paper with suggestions for future research.