Upper limb rehabilitation and evaluation of children using a humanoid robot

Abstract

This paper discusses a preliminary approach to matching child movements with robotic movements for the purpose of evaluating child upper limb rehabilitation exercises. Utilizing existing algorithms termed Motion History Imaging and Dynamic Time Warping for determining areas of movement and video frame mapping respectively, we are able to determine whether or not a patient is consistently performing accurate rehabilitation exercises. The overall goal of this research is to fuse play and rehabilitation techniques using a robotic design to induce child-robot interaction that will be entertaining as well as effective for the child.