IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2013 - 20

Lending a
Helping
Hand
© imagestate

Toward Novel Assistive Robotic Arms

A

ssistive robotics is an increasingly popular research field, which has led to a large
number of commercial and noncommercial systems aimed at assisting physically
impaired or elderly users in the activities of daily living. In this article, we propose
five criteria based on robotic arm usage scenarios and surveys with which
assistive robotic arms can be classified. Different possibilities and
implementations to obtain each criterion are treated, and examples of current assistive
robotic arms are given. Implementations and systems are discussed and rated qualitatively,
which leads to the observation that variable stiffness actuation offers great benefits for
assistive robotic systems despite an increase in the overall complexity.
Robotic Arms
People with upper extremity disabilities (e.g., caused by spinal cord injury or multiple sclerosis) find themselves in need of continuous assistance and care. Currently, professional
personal care is constantly necessary to perform daily tasks such as personal hygiene, getting dressed, moving objects, eating, and drinking. Complete dependence on caregivers has
a tremendous impact on the quality of life. Therefore, the usage of robotic arms to assist
physically impaired people becomes increasingly popular. Consequently, robotic arms are
used to perform the everyday tasks that the user can no longer perform with his/her own
arms. This not only improves independence and general quality of life, but also decreases
societal expense [1].

By Stefan S. Groothuis,
Stefano Stramigioli,
and Raffaella Carloni

User Demands
Several studies have been done to assess and gain insight into possible usage scenarios of
potential robotic arm users. Four predevelopment and five postdevelopment surveys on
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MRA.2012.2225473
Date of publication: 8 March 2013

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IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE

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March 2013

1070-9932/13/$31.00©2013IEEE



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