Adaptive model-based assistive control for pneumatic direct driven soft rehabilitation robots.

Assistive behavior and inherent compliance are assumed to be the essential properties for effective robot-assisted therapy in neurological as well as in orthopedic rehabilitation. This paper presents two adaptive model-based assistive controllers for pneumatic direct driven soft rehabilitation robots that are based on separated models of the soft-robot and the patient's extremity, in order to take into account the individual patient's behavior, effort and ability during control, what is assumed to be essential to relearn lost motor functions in neurological and facilitate muscle reconstruction in orthopedic rehabilitation. The high inherent compliance of soft-actuators allows for a general human-robot interaction and provides the base for effective and dependable assistive control.

Assistive acting movement therapy devices with pneumatic rotary-type soft actuators.

Inherent compliance and assistive behavior are assumed to be essential properties for safe human-robot interaction. Rehabilitation robots demand the highest standards in this respect because the machine interacts directly with weak persons who are often sensitive to pain. Using novel soft fluidic actuators with rotary elastic chambers (REC actuators), compact, lightweight, and cost-effective therapeutic devices can be developed.

Assistive control of motion therapy devices based on pneumatic soft-actuators with rotary elastic chambers.

Robot assisted motion therapy attains increasingly importance and acceptance especially in neurorehabilitation after stroke or spinal injury, but also in orthopedic rehabilitation and surgical interventions. Several studies have shown that a patient-cooperative (assistive) motion therapy, which activates remaining muscle strength and so optimizes recovery, will cause a much higher effectiveness compared to commonly used continuous passive motion (CPM) machines with pre-programmed trajectories (motion profiles). This article describes an assistive control concept developed for orthopedic rehabilitation based on inherent compliant (soft) actuators.