FRIEND - A Dependable Semiautonomous Rehabilitation

Abstract

Within the AMaRob research project a complete reference platform for rehabilitation robots named FRIEND was built by an interdisciplinary team of researchers, therapists, engineers and designers. The robotic system was designed to primarily support people with quadriplegic disabilities in domestic and vocational fields. Based on new control concepts for service robotics, the user gains up to 90 minutes of independence acting autonomously with the robot system. FRIEND has therefore become a reference platform allowing further research on personal rehabilitation robots based on a dependable and comprehensive hardware and software.