Distortion-based interface design for sustainable robotic therapy

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The field of Rehabilitation Robotics addresses functional needs in the well-being - physical, emotional and cognitive - of persons with disabilities and their caregivers. As household helpers and life extenders, robots have been demonstrated to improve quality of life and allow more personal independence in performing activities of daily living. The field is advancing steadily through needs-driven design, new uses of commercial service robots and the application of scientific advances in sensing technologies, controls, and cognitive engineering fields such as vision, grasping, and path-planning. Nevertheless, a persistent thread in the use of therapy devices, including robots, remains the lack of sustained motivation by people who need the therapy. Reduced compliance and abandonment of training translate to financial and societal costs when disability results in dependency and institutionalization. Intensive and expensive one-on-one personal therapy has shown that functional recovery can be significantly improved; however, the patient must endure a long period of frustration before true gains are realized. Will the person give up before the fruits of the therapy are realized? It is critical that we design solutions that work.