ReachMAN: a personal robot to train reaching and manipulation

Robotic devices able to train both reaching and manipulation are often large and complex and thus not suitable for decentralized use at home or in local rehabilitation centers. This paper describes a compact device with only three degrees of freedom (DOF) to train reaching and manipulation critical to activities of daily living. The design considers only the DOF necessary to train tasks such as pick-and-place of objects, drinking, eating and knob manipulation, based on low-dimensional synergies used in these tasks. Specifications from measured biomechanical parameters yield safety and suitable performance. A prototype demonstrates some of the resulting functions and therapeutic possibilities offered by this design.