In nowadays aging society, many people require mobility assistance. Sometimes, assistive devices need a certain degree of autonomy when users' disabilities difficult manual control. However, clinicians report that excessive assistance may lead to loss of residual skills and frustration. Shared control focuses on deciding when users need help and providing it. Collaborative control aims at giving just the right amount of help in a transparent, seamless way. This book presents the collaborative control paradigm. User performance may be indicative of physical/cognitive condition, so it is used to decide how much help is needed. Besides, collaborative control integrates machine and user commands so that people contribute to self-motion at all times. Collaborative control was extensively tested for 3 years using a robotized wheelchair at a rehabilitation hospital in Rome with volunteer inpatients presenting different disabilities, ranging from mild to severe. We also present a taxonomy of common metrics for wheelchair navigation and tests are evaluated accordingly. Obtained results are coherent both from a quantitative and qualitative point of view.

This book contains a comprehensive overview of all current uses of robots in rehabilitation. The underlying principles in each application are provided. This is followed by a critical review of the technology available, of the utilization protocols, and of user studies, outcomes, and clinical evidence, if existing. Ethical and social implications of robot use are also discussed. The reader will have an in depth view of rehabilitation robots, from principles to practice.

The International Symposium on Experimental Robotics (ISER) is a series of bi-annual meetings which are organized in a rotating fashion around North America, Europe and Asia/Oceania. The goal of ISER is to provide a forum for research in robotics that focuses on novelty of theoretical contributions validated by experimental results. The meetings are conceived to bring together, in a small group setting, researchers from around the world who are in the forefront of experimental robotics research. This unique reference presents the latest advances across the various fields of robotics, with ideas that are not only conceived conceptually but also explored experimentally. It collects robotics contributions on the current developments and new directions in the field of experimental robotics, which are based on the papers presented at the 14th ISER held on June 15-18, 2014 in Marrakech and Essaouira, Morocco. This present fourteenth edition of Experimental Robotics edited by M. Ani Hsieh, Oussama Khatib, and Vijay Kumar offers a collection of a broad range of topics in field and human-ce ntered robotics.

Enhanced, more reliable, and better understood than in the past, artificial intelligence (AI) systems can make providing healthcare more accurate, affordable, accessible, consistent, and efficient. However, AI technologies have not been as well integrated into medicine as predicted. In order to succeed, medical and computational scientists must develop hybrid systems that can effectively and efficiently integrate the experience of medical care professionals with capabilities of AI systems. After providing a general overview of artificial intelligence concepts, tools, and techniques, Medical Applications of Artificial Intelligence reviews the research, focusing on state-of-the-art projects in the field. The book captures the breadth and depth of the medical applications of artificial intelligence, exploring new developments and persistent challenges.

Smart Wheelchairs and Brain-Computer Interfaces: Mobile Assistive Technologies combines the fields of neuroscience, rehabilitation and robotics via contributions from experts in their field to help readers develop new mobile assistive technologies. It provides information on robotics, control algorithm design for mobile robotics systems, ultrasonic and laser sensors for measurement and trajectory planning, and is ideal for researchers in BCI. A full view of this new field is presented, giving readers the current research in the field of smart wheelchairs, potential control mechanisms and human interfaces that covers mobility, particularly powered mobility, smart wheelchairs, particularly sensors, control mechanisms, and human interfaces. Presents the first book that combines BCI and mobile robotics Focuses on fundamentals and developments in assistive robotic devices which are commanded by alternative ways, such as the brain Provides an overview of the technologies that are already available to support research and the development of new products

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on ICTs for Improving Patients Rehabilitation Research Techniques, REHAB 2016, held in Lisbon, Portugal, in October 2016. The 10 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 33 submissions. The papers explore how technology can contribute toward smarter and effective rehabilitation methods.