Objective: A portable back massage robot which can complete the massage operations such as tapping, kneading and rolling was designed to improve the level of intelligence and massage effect. An efficient full covered path planning algorithm was put forward for a portable back massage robot to improve the coverage.
Background: Currently, massage robots has become one of important research focuses with the increasing requirements for healthcare. The massage robot is difficult to be widely accepted as there are problems of massage robot in control, structure, and coverage path planning.
Method: The 3D electromagnetic simulation model was established to optimize electromagnetic force. By analyzing the Traditional Chinese Medicine massage operation and the demands, the path planning algorithm models were established. The experimental platform of the massage robot was built.
Results: The simulation results show presented path planning algorithm is suitable for back massage, which ensures that the massage robot traverse the entire back area with improved massage coverage. The tested results show that the massage effect is best when the duty cycle is in the range of 1/8 to 1/2, and the massage force increases with the increase of the input voltage.
Conclusions: The massage robot eventually achieved the desired massage effect, and the proposed efficient algorithm can effectively improve the coverage and promote the massage effect.
Keywords: Coverage of massage area; Traditional Chinese Medicine; path planning; portable massage robot.