Comparison of Reaching Motion in Mixed Reality Headset and End-effector-based Robotic Arm with Flat Panel Display

Abstract

Rehabilitation exercise for hemiplegia due to stroke is continuously necessary not only in hospitals but also at home. Concerning daily living activities, various upper extremity rehabilitation exercises such as reaching exercises are necessary. This paper observed the difference between 1) the reaching exercise using a mixed reality headset through HoloLens 2 and 2) the reaching exercise via the end-effector-based robot, NRC end-effector-based rehabilitation arm at home (NREH). After performing reaching exercises in two ways for able-bodied people, a qualitative and quantitative comparative analysis was performed. Because the mixed reality headset reached targets in the three-dimensional space, the mixed reality headset could move freely compared to the NREH with arm support. The difficulty of the method using only the mixed reality headset was observed to be approximately 30% higher in speed or straightness than the method using a robot and a flat panel display. In terms of the continuum of care for stroke survivors, mixed reality headsets and robots could be applied sequentially or together in tasks of moderate difficulty.