Integrating Physical and Cognitive Interaction Capabilities in a Robot-Aided Rehabilitation Platform

The communication channels between physiotherapists and patients are many and varied. Rehabilitation robots are able to deliver intensive treatments and improve the patient's quality of life. However, rehabilitation robots in the literature do not integrate physical manipulation with natural verbal communication yet. This article proposes an innovative integrated system for motor rehabilitation based on the combination of physical and cognitive components to emulate the natural interaction between physiotherapists and patients. The proposed approach was validated in a laboratory setting with 20 healthy subjects. The cognitive system's ability to interact linguistically as well as the participants' kinematic performance and the emotional impact generated by two different robotic systems were assessed. The former integrates advanced linguistic capabilities and the latter lacks any verbal communication. The results showed that the presence of linguistic interaction promotes the quality of interaction, leading to improvements both in the execution of movements and in emotional terms.