SIG-1 MEETING MINUTES

Minutes of the SIG-1 meeting and report of SIG-1 to the general meeting of AAATE 2001

1. We met yesterday 4 September and 20 persons attended the meeting.
   
   
2. A quick look back in history of the SIG-1:
   • Started in 1996
   • Had a fruitful come together in Thessalonica 1997, Dusseldorf 1999 and now in Lljubljana 2001. Specialties of these congresses were:
     • Porto Carras - Presentation of RR to other disciplines with a fruitful discussion
     • Dusseldorf - Connection to the Reha, a pre-conference on rehab robotics in relation to the retirement of Hok Kwee
     • Llubljana - Robot mediated therapy is half of the papers and the other half of the 10 papers is RR for independent living
   
   
   
3. The question was raised if SIG-1 is not redundant with ICORR (the International Congress on Rehab Robotics) the last year in April in Paris. 110 attendees and 47 papers about rehab robotics. The meeting felt it is not redundant for the reason that AAATE is a come together of clinical disciplines, service delivery and technical engineers in A.T.
   
   
4. Memorable items in the field of Rehab Robotics are:
   • Last 27th of August the Dutch government decided to have the Manus manipulator on the service delivery list. A very important decision for the Rehab Robotics Community. A short story of the process from design to delivery will be published via the AAATE regular and via the SIG-1 website.
   • Rehab Robotics is not only the manipulator for independent living but more and more robot mediated therapy e.g. for after stroke treatment.
   • In this field Europe in with the Gentle/S project at the forefront of R and D, together with MIT and Stanford Research in the USA.
   • Gentle/S is funded in FP5 in Quality of life. Not too many activities in Robotics are funded in IST (RehaRob and the Research Network EURON).
   • RR activities are shifling more East. South Korea and Japan are active.
   
   
   
5. Self assessment of SIG-1
   Is there any important reason to have a Special Interest Group on rehab robotics in AAATE? Why are there almost no other SIG?s? The SIG-13 of Resna in RR had only one Robotics paper in the last Resna Conference. In Resja no SIG on Robotics exist.

   The members had the opinion that meeting other professionals in AT (Clinical discipline, therapist discipline, etc.) is inspiring and necessary and had the opinion that in upcoming AAATE conferences SIG-1 management has to bring this more in the robotics sessions by inviting speakers from these disciplines. And it is worthwile to address European aspects. It is felt that AAATE is too much living apart together and the opinion is that more of the disciplines should be present in the plenary sessions next times.
   
   

6. A discussion followed about more actual RR users to be present in the conference. This was very stimulating and to the point in the last ICORR. It depends among others on the next place where we meet if we are able to let this happen, is the opinion.
   
   
7. A discussion was held about the name of the SIG-1 Service Robotics for independence and therapy was a proposal. But it will remain: Special Interest Group in Rehab Robotics although with the addition RR for independence and therapy.

EU in Rehab Robotics

AAATE SIG-1 Attendees