Soft Robots for Healthcare Applications: Design, Modelling, and Control

Robot-assisted healthcare offers benefits for repetitive, intensive and task specific training compared to traditional manual manipulation performed by physiotherapists. However, a majority of existing rehabilitation devices use rigid actuators such as electric motors or hydraulic cylinders which cannot guarantee the safety of patients. This book provides biomedical engineering and robotics professionals and students with the fundamental mechatronic engineering knowledge to analyze and design new soft robotic devices. The authors present a systematic investigation of the design, modelling, methods, and control methods, implementation and novel applications of mechatronics to provide better clinical rehabilitation services and new insights into emerging technologies utilized in soft robots for healthcare.