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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

The Combined Use of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Robotic Therapy for the Upper Limb
Published on: September 23, 2018
Some robotic imitations of biological movements can be counterproductive
Ramesh Balasubramaniam1, Anatol G Feldman
1Research Center, Rehabilitation Institute of Montreal, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec H3S 2J4, Canada mahavishnu@sympatico.ca Feldman@ere.umontreal.ca.
Abstract:
It is proposed here that Webb's ideas about robots as possible models of animals need some rethinking. In our view, even though widely used biorobotics strategies are fairly successful at reproducing the macroscopic behavior of biological systems, there are still several problems unresolved on the side of robotics as well as biology. Both mathematical and hardware-like robotics models should be feasible physiologically. Control principles elaborated in robotics are not necessarily applied to biological control systems. Although observations of flying birds inspired aerodynamics and thus modern airplanes, little knowledge has been added to the neurophysiological principles underlying flight in birds. Chess playing computers might outperform most chess players, but they cannot be considered as physiologically feasible models of human thinking.

