Robotic arm inertial control for recreational child physiotherapy application

Abstract

According to reports from physical therapists, physiotherapy presents a painful and uninteresting process because it distances itself from the ludic, which is a natural essence of the human being, and easily attracts children when applied. In 2021, the “Robotic System for Children's Physiotherapy with Recreational Activities” project was developed, which consisted of a robotic arm to assist in the physiotherapy process of children with Cerebral Palsy. According to the conclusions of the initial project, the developed control was effective in what was proposed but not sufficient for project application in rehabilitation environments In this way, this work present a new control that is safer and that allows its application helping in the rehabilitation of these children. This new control allows the robotic arm to reproduce the movements of the human arm, so that the movement of the forearm, arm and hand are reproduced independently, simultaneously and in real time. Therefore, the prototype control operates reliably and robustly, achieving what was aimed at, a safer and more efficient physiotherapeutic process for users.