Modular Design and Decentralized Control of the Recupera Exoskeleton for Stroke Rehabilitation

Abstract

Robot-assisted therapy has become increasingly popular and useful in post-stroke neurorehabilitation. This paper presents an overview of the design and control of the dual-arm Recupera exoskeleton to provide intense therapist-guided as well as self training for sensorimotor rehabilitation of the upper body. The exoskeleton features a lightweight design, high level of modularity, decentralized computing, and various levels of safety implementation. Due to its modularity, the system can be used as a wheel-chair mounted system or as a full-body system. Both systems enable a wide range of therapies while efficiently grounding the weight of the system and without compromising the patient’s mobility. Furthermore, two rehabilitation therapies implemented on the exoskeleton system, namely teach & replay therapy and mirror therapy, are presented along with experimental results.