Specialized in man-machine cooperation, the UPV-M's Human Engineering and Behavioral Sciences Laboratory (Laboratoire d'Automatique humaine et de Sciences comportementales - LASC) is betting on multi-disciplinary research to develop applications that encourage independence. "The main stake, is now industrial transfer" Guy Bourhis announces. He is the Human Engineering and Behavioral Science Laboratory (Laboratoire d'Automatique humaine et de Sciences comportementales - LASC) manager. The particularity is that he has worked in the handicap area since its creation in 1997 at the UPV-M. The laboratory creation was based on a project for an intelligent wheelchair "able to detect obstacles and avoid them, follow walls or go through doors". Unfortunately, this equipment was not marketed "due to the overly-restricted market and high cost". Nonetheless last year, the number of employees at the HEBSL doubled from 8 to 16 teaching researchers, a strong evolution that confirms its multi-disciplinary vocation. Initially composed of robotics specialists, the team now counts new skills in behavioral neurosciences. "The original object of our research saw scientific problems emerge that focused on the cooperation between man and the machine, beyond mobile robotics. The reinforcements will bring us a theoretical advantage for understanding the person." Today, the LASC also works on accessibility by elaborating virtual 3D environments for a wheelchair driving simulator and communication assistance. It also fine tuned "a scrolling system" for handicapped persons with ALS troubles, a degenerative illness that leads to the loss of muscle control and the use of speech. "This interface is about to be completed and it will enable choices to be displayed on a screen so that one can select by moving one's eyebrows for example. It improves the existing ergonomics: we optimize the signal treatment in order to automatically regulate the scrolling speed according to the user's performance." The sensors were designed in Brazil, one of the Lorraine region laboratory's international collaborations in addition to Algeria and Tunisia. Another research axis is "emotions and actions". Here, the "electronic nose" creates a real innovation when redirected from its initial purpose, pollution measurement. "The idea is to re-direct this tool towards the treatment of phobias. We would like to use it to inject odors susceptible of calming patients who suffer from certain emotional states called PDD (pervasive developmental disorder)". Thanks to neuroscience, the LASC's work has found new fields for application. These extend especially to the elderly and mobility assistance, and, according to Guy Bourhis, "this opens up new perspectives from the commercial point of view." © photo : alphaspirit - Fotolia.com

LASC : Laboratory of Automation of Cooperative Systems Initially the LASC launched the V.A.H.M.(Autonomous Vehicle for Physical Mobility Disabled People) project, which is an original application of mobile robotics for electric wheelchair driving assistance.

• Return to the file "Handicapped persons in the Lorraine region"