Overview of a Robot for a Neuromuscular Training – RoboTrainer

摘要

The shortage on caregivers in the aging western societies has motivated many research groups to develop smart assistive devices for rehabilitation and gait assistance. Such devices are designed for the use by elderly people or persons with disabilities. In our previous work we have presented a smart walker for training of persons with mild cognitive impairment to mobilize their cognitive reserves using motor activation. In this work we present the second prototype of the robot-based device for neuromuscular training called RoboTrainer. Compared to the previous device, RoboTrainer is mechanically adaptable to its user regarding the support area and height of the handles. It uses adaptive control for more intuitive interaction and has additional sensors for observing the state of a user and obstacles in the environment. The presented device is currently in assembly phase with all mechatronical modules tested and configured. In this paper we share design decisions and concepts of RoboTrainer and discuss mechatronical and software components in detail by comparing them to similar state-of-the-art devices. The observations in this paper are a valuable input for the design of future smart walkers.