Automatic Feeding System for Upper-Limb Amputees

Author(s)M. Jagannath,S.Saravanakumar

Research Scholars

Department of Engineering Design, IITM, Chennai – 600036.

Abstract

There are many examples of assistive devices that enable disabled people to perform many activities of daily living thus improving their quality of life. This has been used to enhance a person's capability for independent living and vocational productivity. In this paper we describe a system that is mainly intended to provide an alternative of feeding for people with upper-limb amputations. It can be operated in either auto or manual mode. In manual mode the user can control the feeding arm using a switch that is activated by his or her foot. Specifically, actuating the switch in one direction will cause the spoon to lower and collect food from an underlying plate. The spoon is then lifted to an area proximal the user's mouth for food consumption. In auto mode we used a Lab VIEW based real time data acquisition and instrumentation for the feeding system. The addition of the new LabVIEW module to the system provides the much needed real time informations such as disc angle, arm angle and physical presence of the amputee. Hence our feeding system enables the user to retrieve, serve and eat a desired food product on-demand, with minimal or no assistance of others.