Computer Access Technologies for Controlling Assistive Robotic Manipulators: Potentials and Challenges

One of the most challenging barriers to a successful application of the assistive robots is how to enable users who have special needs to interact with the robot aids in an efficient and comfortable manner, since the conventional control method using a traditional joystick combined with buttons and/or knobs demands fine motor control and good dexterity resulting in cognitive and physical workload. Adopting computer access technology, which has provided an alternative means to allow people who have a wide range of special needs to independently access their computer, can be a practical solution to this issue. In this paper, we reviewed and discussed the potentials and challenges of computer access technologies as an alternative control method for controlling assistive robotic manipulators, focusing on most widely adopted interventions in the clinical settings, including alternative pointing, keyboard-only access, switch scanning interface and speech recognition.