Robots as Adjunct Therapy: Reflections and Suggestions in Rehabilitation for People with Cognitive Impairments

Abstract

The expanding function of robots in rehabilitation has allowed for new intervention methods that are accurate, motivating and repetitive. By analyzing current state-of-the-art evidences, this paper proposes considerable necessities for robots to take part in the rehabilitation environments. Suggestions focus specifically on intervention for people affected by autism, Cerebral Palsy (CP) and dementia. Overall, a robot in human shape present advantages over other types of robots in autism and CP therapy context as it is physically suitable in imitation-based therapy. However, for elderly people affected with dementia, so far only robots in animal shape have been utilized in therapy and succeed to improve their mental functions. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.