Human-Centered rehabilitation and assistive robotics (English)
In the last years, the rise of medical robotics has paralleled the rapid advances in technology, computers, and engineering. An important subarea of medical robotics is the field of "rehabilitation and assistive robotics."
In this regard, new technologies have emerged to improve people's living conditions who have suffered from motor impairments or amputations. Assistive robotics, implemented either employing hardware adaptations or high-level control approaches, has led to the appearance of several promising applications that promote independence in subjects limited by their impairment. In pursuit of effective functionality, these solutions require robust interfaces that allow natural and compliant control. Therefore, human-robot interfaces must rely on diverse modalities related to motion intention and generation of voluntary movement, so that their users may experience an influence at a mechanical or neural level. Further research is needed to assess such assistive and rehabilitation devices' effects on impaired subjects within this scope.
Several design techniques have been explored over the years, all of which integrate contributions from different populations affected by the design decisions (e.g., stakeholders and community). The participatory design (PD) process is a well-known strategy in industrial design and the arts to develop products and services for a target population. The philosophy behind PD is to empower the people involved in a specific activity or situation by providing them space and a voice so that all can contribute to the decision making. The process intends to, in the end, achieve products or services that represent the real needs, desires, and expectations of the users, designers, and stakeholders. During the last decade, the effectiveness of designs based on participatory practices has stirred researchers' interest in different fields.
The application of PD techniques is particularly promising when transferring knowledge and systems from research to the real-world, primarily if the product's success or service hinges on the interaction with the human. The use of PD methods in the design of technology-based processes for health care recognizes the stakeholders as “experts” in their fields, highlighting the different experiences and attitudes that they may have. The target populations and their environment (families, society, groups of allies and friends) are no longer seen as a source to obtain information and requirements to produce results, but rather a partner with experience and a different way to see the world that can be a part of the solution.
This course's main objective consists of discussing the pertinence and feasibility of human-robot interfaces integrating PD methodologies to enhance assistive and rehabilitation devices' interaction performance. In this sense, this course seeks to engage professionals and researchers from various backgrounds, such as physiotherapists, physiatrists, occupational therapists, engineers, scientists, end-users, clinical researchers, industrial researchers, and developers.