Robic, the robot therapist that facilitates rehabilitation sessions

Robic

A robot therapist rehabilitation specialist? That's right. Technology is going further and further. Inrobics It is a project focused on the robotic rehabilitation which engineers have been developing since 2016 Jose Carlos Pulido y Jose Carlos Gonzalez. Both are young entrepreneurs, PhDs from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and co-founders of Inrobics Social Robotics, SLL. This is the result of the evolution of the research in which a first model was developed NaoTherapist.

As we will explain later, the platform NaoTherapist It consists of a robot (Nao), an application to configure sessions, a artificial intelligence system and a 3D sensor.

Nao, the fun component of NaoTherapist

Before talking about the solution Inrobics Rehab Clinic, it is necessary to talk about Do the robotic unit that acts not as a substitute, but as a therapist assistant. To begin with, Robic is the proper name designated by Inrobics to distinguish the robot configured with the company's own software. The robot model is NAOC, humanoid robot created in 2006 by the French company Aldebaran robotic development. Their goal, when developing it, was to offer a human-like robot with mechanical, electronic and cognitive abilities at a more affordable price to reach a wider audience. But, beyond that, the purpose was that Nao became another member of the family, able to help with household chores like any other member of the household.

NAOC has a platform that allows the incorporation of additional functions or extras through various applications. Hence, the founders of Inrobics they chose him for the research project NaoTherapist and added a proper name to the robot by developing specific software. The latest version of the robot, NAO6, launched in 2018, serves as a companion for diabetic children and is also frequently used in the educational field.

With a height of 58 cm, the model NAOC It is a bipedal robot with rounded shapes and has been constantly evolving since its launch. Indeed, the most recent version, NAO6, includes a new CPU which improves the robot's performance. Its design and appearance, similar to that of a science fiction movie character, make it ideal for interacting with children aged seven and up. Apart from that, it is suitable for use at all educational levels, from pre-school to higher education.

Capabilities and functionalities of Robic, the robotic co-therapist of Inrobics

Versatility and exceptional features make this robot an indispensable component for delicate projects such as this.

Precisely, one of the most outstanding features of Do It is the ability to detect people's moods and express emotions such as sadness, joy, surprise and fear.

Weighing 4,3 kg, Robic, model NAOC It is lightweight and compact, making it a great solution for co-existing with humans. The robot's hands have prehensile fingers with touch sensors, allowing it to lift objects weighing up to 600 grams.

The robot is controlled by an operating system called NAOqi, which manages the different elements of the unit, such as sensors, motors and from software. Also Do is equipped with Wi-Fi and can be connected in the office or at home, either using WPA (privacy equivalent to wiring) or WEP (Wi-Fi Protected Access).

The robot also has four microphones for communication and understands and speaks 20 different languages. It is even capable of recognizing sounds from any angle. Two detection cameras allow the robot to Nao identify objects in their environment and their articulated robotic arms allow you to get up on your own in the event of a fall.

It is also able to recognize people you talk to and remember their names after several days. The most recent version, V6 Standard, reaches up to 25 degrees of freedom and has an inertial measurement unit with gyrometer and accelerometer.

It also has four ultrasound sensors that provide stability. Touch sensors on the head, hands and feet, as well as cameras and microphones, allow the robot to perceive its surroundings and position itself in space in order to interact within them.

Inrobics, robotics and artificial intelligence combined to improve medical rehabilitation

Our company, Inrobics Social Robotics, SLL is a spinoff of the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M). It was born from an investigation from which the first solution emerged NaoTherapist, evolved to InrobicsIn short, development consists of a innovative robotic device which offers motor and cognitive rehabilitation services in clinical and home settings. The platform is made up of four elements:

  • Firstly, Do, the robot that interacts with the patient.
  • A system Artificial Intelligence which, together with a 3D sensor, controls the robot.
  • A app so that he health personnel set up and track sessions.
  • In addition, a cloud storage system to collect and analyze information on the rehabilitation processes.

The combination of robotics and Artificial Intelligence has proven to be very effective in improving rehabilitation therapies and offering additional tools to healthcare personnel. The solution offered Inrobics, Inrobics Rehab Clinic It allows the performance of activities based on imitation and series of exercises that are very useful for improving the quality of life of patients.

In the case of children, the interaction with the robot It is perceived as a game activity, which facilitates rehabilitation. This is undoubtedly a significant added value offered by our platform. Furthermore, it is able to enrich the work environment of the therapist who often does not have tools adapted to specific patient profiles.

In addition, this platform, developed with the advice from pediatric professionals (cognitive and functional diversity) and geriatrics (active aging and support), is useful in the home environment as a resource for remote rehabilitation, thus improving family conciliation and quality of life.

Some outstanding features of Inrobics Rehab Clinic

In particular, we must highlight some technical details that make the solutions Inrobics a viable alternative for rehabilitation, whether in care centers (Inrobics Rehab Clinic) or at home (Inrobics Virtual). On the one hand, the 3D sensor allows you to capture at all times the patient posture. As an illustration, it is possible to detect if you are lifting an arm and, at the same time, you are twisting your spine to compensate for the difficulty. All this information is captured and entered into the clinical reports generated by the platform.

On the other hand, the architecture of from software developed by Inrobics for this tool has Artificial Intelligence techniques. These are the ones that allow Do move autonomously (whether it is Robic in its robotic form or the virtual avatar that accompanies users at home). That is, it does not require a technician to teleoperate it. In this sense, it is only necessary for the therapist to personalize the entire program of postures and movements that the patient must perform. This is possible through the Graphic interface that we developed for this resource for this purpose. Once the session is scheduled, the robot gets up and begins to execute it.    

The platform participated in a clinical trial carried out in the National Hospital for Paraplegics in Toledo, being used in pediatric patients with spinal cord injury. Likewise, he was able to demonstrate his capabilities in the Institute of Functional Rehabilitation Lasalle of Madrid with the same type of patients. There he carried out motor recovery exercise sessions and, in some cases, even cognitive habilyties.Today, five Spanish clinical institutions and more than 300 individual users use the solutions Inrobics.

Innovation in rehabilitation therapy

Since Inrobics We have proposed a new model of rehabilitation who uses the Artificial Intelligence and social robots to help people with functional or neurological limitations to improve their quality of life. Contact us for more information about our therapies, how to obtain our robots, request free demonstrations of our services and discuss business proposals.

Picture of José Carlos González

Jose Carlos Gonzalez

PhD cum laude in Computer Science and Technology from the Carlos III University of Madrid, specializing in artificial intelligence and robotics. He has more than 10 years of experience in IT architectures, and has conducted research at Carnegie Mellon University (USA) and the Karlsruher Institute for Technology (Germany). Expert in intelligent control architectures for autonomous robots and machine learning. He leads software projects, currently focused on robotic technologies in the health sector.