Robot assisted standing-up

Abstract

A robot assistive device is proposed aimed as a support for the impaired individuals when rising from sitting to standing position. The aim of the simple standing-up robot is to impose to the impaired person the reference position trajectory of the pelvis while unloading the upper and lower extremities. Variety of possible utilization areas are feasible: the device can serve as a functional rehabilitative aid, as training device or as an assessment tool when studying the standing-up manoeuvre. As a prototype, the 1-DOF hydraulically driven robot mechanism was built. Initial testing and evaluation results are presented together with the functional electrical stimulation of the paralysed muscles.