Abstract
Movements of the upper limbs are indispensable for daily activities. Rehabilitation for upper limbs is important for aged people or patients of paralysis caused by stroke. In recent years, the needs for rehabilitation support systems are increasing, which use robot technology and virtual reality technology. Applying these technologies make efficient rehabilitation possible. This paper presents the development of a 6-DOF robot for supporting upper limbs rehabilitation. This robot ensures efficient rehabilitation trainings that focus on the harmonic movement of the whole upper limb including the wrist. We exhibited the robot at the Prototype Robot Festival at the 2005 International Exposition held in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Many visitors experienced the demonstration of rehabilitation by the robot at the festival. After this festival, we improved the handle part of the robot and developed evaluation software.
