Sensorimotor Characteristics in Human Arm Movements during a Virtual Curling Task for Motor Rehabilitation of Upper Limb

Abstract

The present paper develops a virtual curling system using robotic devices based on the impedance training, with which a trainee manipulates the handle of the impedance-controlled robot and slides the virtual stone toward the center of the house, as similar as the actual curing game. The developed system can estimate trainee's hand impedance during the curing task to quantitatively evaluate an adaptation ability of musculoskeletal characteristics of the upper extremity. To design a training program and an evaluation index of training effects, standard hand motion and its dynamic properties for the virtual curling task are clarified through a set of training experiments with 18 volunteers.