Abstract Summary
The fast-evolving field of robotics offers tantalizing potential to help individuals who lost motor functions. However, only in science-fiction movies do we see people casually moving around in robotic suits in their daily lives. Current technology still faces many challenges, like cost, usability, energy consumption, or actuator torque-to-weight ratio. It also faces competition from alternative solutions. Particularly in the domain of motor rehabilitation training, simplistic tools are often more practical and cost-effective in achieving the primary goal: Enabling patients to train. Simultaneously, invasive approaches offer exciting new opportunities for neurological recovery. This talk proposes to take a step back, to look at challenges and gaps in human motor augmentation, and to strive for minimalistic solutions where robotics is only one potential solution option. Examples will be given for some areas where robotics may offer unique benefits, namely to boost efficacy of invasive technologies with tailored training environments, to allow learning more about human neuromechanics in experimental platforms, and to explore unconventional solutions that may not just replace or quantitatively enhance functionality, but add entirely different types of functionality to the human body. Examples will also be given for cases where much simpler solutions may be preferable to conventional robotics, namely to enable widespread access to neurorehabilitation training, or to deal with the risk of falling in daily life.
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