Improving robotics for neurorehabilitation: enhancing engagement, performance, and learning with auditory feedback

This paper reports on an ongoing research collaboration between the University of Padua and the University of California Irvine, on the use of continuous auditory-feedback in robot-assisted neurorehabilitation of post-stroke patients. This feedback modality is mostly underexploited in current robotic rehabilitation systems, that usually implement very basic auditory feedback interfaces. The results of this research show that generating a proper sound cue during robot assisted movement training can help patients in improving engagement, performance and learning in the exercise.