Evidence for rehabilitation and socially assistive robotics

This chapter focuses on both rehabilitation and socially assistive robotics, clinical tools which can be implemented to augment and optimize meaningful restorative therapy for a range of clinical presentations, including those with neurological disease or injury and the older adult population. There is growing interest, demand, and development in this field of robotics among academic, commercial, and clinical communities, with increases in the number of publications and number of devices available. This growth is understandable given the escalating aging population and the isolation requirements of the recent global pandemic, which highlight the need for more effective therapy solutions, with less physical human interaction. We will provide an overview of the principles, likely mechanisms, and the clinical evidence that supports upper-extremity, lower-extremity, and socially assistive robotics. Future directions are discussed, including the challenges and barriers to overcome, the potential for combined robotic therapies, and the importance for collaboration of stakeholders to better serve the populations who could benefit from this technology.