Robotic platform for telerehabilitation studies based on unity game engine

In this paper we present a robotic platform and a computer game designed to evaluate cooperative bilateral telerehabilitation approaches. The virtual environment was developed using the Unity Game Engine in order to create a deep immersion to the patients. In a cooperative bilateral telerehabilitation system, two or more patients (or patients and therapists) interact with each other through the graphical environment of the game, with direct transmission of forces between the robots. In this case, one player feels the motion performed by the other player through the force transmission between the robots. Three telerehabilitation approaches are evaluated: the symmetrical PD strategy, the teleoperator based on wave variables, and the virtual model-based teleoperator. Experimental results for the three approaches are presented using a bilateral one degree of freedom robotic system.