Robot development in cooperation with patients: Application of Hyper-Tether to support Home Oxygen Therapy patients

Hyper-Tether is a highly functional system which uses tethers to connect a wide range of robots, vehicles and humans. Home Oxygen Therapy (H.O.T.) is a medical treatment for severe lung diseases in which the patients are supplied concentrated oxygen through a cannula. The need to carry a portable oxygen supply device limits the quality of life of the patients, and so we have designed a robot follower using Hyper-Tether. The robot, which can carry an oxygen tank and follow behind the patient, was tested by H.O.T. users and evaluated using questionnaires. This paper describes the development and testing of the robot follower, with particular focus on iterative design based on patients' feedback.