The number of mechanical degrees of freedom (DoFs) within rehabilitation robots directly influences the scope of the movements that a subject can perform when training walking. Currently, gait rehabilitation robots have a limited number of mechanical DoFs, as a consequence this limits the movements these robots can make possible. In this paper, the novel gait rehabilitation system CORBYS is presented which consists of the mobile platform and a powered orthosis which is attached to the platform. The CORBYS powered orthosis has 16 DoFs enabling more physiological movements, making it a state-of-the-art gait rehabilitation robotic system. With the sufficient number of DoFs to enable natural-like walking, the CORBYS robotic system enables the integration of the “learning gait by therapist demonstration” paradigm. This paper presents the fully integrated functional CORBYS gait rehabilitation system, with the focus on the implementation aspects which enable generation of the reference gait trajectory through learning by therapist demonstration, and the use of the generated trajectory in the robotic therapy session. The results of the initial evaluation of the robotic system obtained in tests with a selected patient are given in the paper.

Rehabilitation robots, together with vision and audio systems form the multimodal environment for exercising the person in a number of ways, unavoidably influencing the physiological state of the subject. This paper examines viability of measuring psycho physiological responses to different robotic tasks. The heart rate, skin conductance, respiration and peripheral skin temperature were observed to verify if physical activity obstructs useful recordings and to verify responses in stroke population. 30 healthy subjects were checked with a control task, a purely mental task and task with physical load. 23 subacute stroke persons did a control task, pick and place task (+ inverted version) and Stroop test, same as 22 healthy control subjects. Psycho physiological measurements yielded results even in the presence of physical load and can thus potentially be useful for rehabilitation robotics. Similar responses as in healthy control group were found in the stroke group. Skin conductance response frequency, respiratory rate, skin conductance and skin temperature (all changes from baseline) were confirmed as parameters signaling changes in arousal and valence of both, stroke and control groups.

This paper describes two-legged mechanical structure with ankle, knee and hip joints that is capable of walking in naturally stable walking cycle on downhill slope without presence of energy source. Bipedal model has elastic strings attached to the designated places that imitate a part of human muscular-skeletal system. By combining spring-like properties with passive walking principles we accomplish energy exchanges between biped segments during stance and swing phases that also simultaneously facilitate solution to foot clearance problem during swing phase by enabling the biped to perform rocking movement in lateral plane. We designed and examined behavior of the biped when walking with extended and flexible knees. The observed joint trajectories in the configuration with flexed knees were very similar to those observed in normal human walking. The results show new perspectives on future bipedal robots development and for studying involvement of particular muscle in human gait.