The RELab Tenoexo is a wearable robotic hand orthosis developed at the Rehabilitation Engineering Laboratory (RELab) of ETH Zurich. The lightweight and user-friendly design is tailored to assist individuals with sensorimotor hand impairment in opening and closing their hands. Its physical attachment systems, grasp types, and intention detection strategies such as pushbuttons, voice control, and mobile phone applications allow for customization based on individual user needs. RELab aims to restore hand function with a single device throughout different phases of rehabilitation. A pediatric version of the robotic hand can be used in therapy with children.
Another healthcare device developed by RELab is the ReHandyBot – a cutting-edge table-top robotic device specifically designed to assist and aid in the hand function following neurological impairment. ReHandyBot is equipped with two active degrees of freedom that enable the training of grasping and pronosupination of the forearm. A virtual reality interface provides an interactive platform for users to engage in exercise and manipulation objects using instrumented finger pads that stimulate the mechanical properties of the objects. ReHandyBot’s user-friendly interface allows for independent use by patients, making it an excellent complement to traditional hand therapy.
Haru is a social robot designed by the Honda Research Institute that can communicate emotions and investigate long-term interaction, cooperation, and creativity through empathetic engagement. Developed to connect with children from all over the world, Haru facilitates their interaction through self-expression, open discussion and community sharing activities. This puts children in touch with values such as diversity, understanding and acceptance. The Honda Research Institute is collaborating with a team of multidisciplinary partners to make Haru a valuable tool for creating stronger and more inclusive communities.
The QT robot project at Indiana University Bloomington aims to guide older people towards a new sense of purpose by providing them with an opportunity to build interpersonal relationships, conduct meaningful everyday activities and participate in society. The researchers are using a commercially available robotic platform called the QT robot and customizing its capabilities and recommendations based on personalized perception models developed through co-design sessions with older adults. The project furthermore has the potential to benefit family and formal caregivers.
Buddy is an endearing emotional robot developed by Blue Frog Robotics. It has the ability to naturally express a range of emotions which helps him in assisting, entertaining and educating people of any age. This social robot can both be a tool for students to learn in new innovative ways as it can watch over elderly people and keep them from feeling isolated. It also supports autistic children in creating social links between people and has already been deployed in thousands of schools across France. As an open and scalable platform with its development tools, Buddy is a companion with incredible potential.
Furhat is an advanced social robot designed by Furhat Robotics. This highly adaptable robot allows for customization of its face design, ethnicity, gender, language and even species, enabling users to create lifelike and expressive characters for a variety of purposes at an affordable price. Running on the Furhat Software conversational operating system, the robot employs cutting-edge technologies in speech recognition, computer vision, speech synthesis, animation, and dialogue management to deliver a highly interactive and engaging experience. In addition, every Furhat robot comes with a Software Development Kit, which includes a suite of powerful tools for creating, deploying, and analyzing applications.
