Activity in the field of Rehabilitation Robotics was initiated in the 1970s and has developed to a point where the first commercially successful products are now available. The following academic papers provide a historical overview:
Dallaway JL, Jackson RD, Timmers PHA (1995) Rehabilitation robotics in Europe. IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering.3. 35-45.
Harwin WS, Rahman T, Foulds RA (1995) A review of design issues in rehabilitation robotics with reference to North American research. IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering.3. 3-13.
The field of Rehabilitation Robotics is less developed than that of Industrial Robotics. Many assistive robotic systems have featured an industrial robot arm for reasons of economy and availability. However, the requirements specifications for robots in these two application areas are very different. The differences arise from the involvement of the user in rehabilitation applications. Industrial robots are typically powerful and rigid to provide speed and accuracy. They operate autonomously and, for reasons of safety, no human interaction is permitted. Rehabilitation robots must operate more slowly and be more compliant to facilitate safe user interaction.