IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2024;32:2709-2718. doi: 10.1109/TNSRE.2024.3432661. Epub 2024 Jul 31.
Extended reality (XR) technology combines physical reality with computer synthetic virtuality to deliver immersive experience to users. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are two subdomains within XR with different immersion levels. Both of these have the potential to be combined with robot-assisted training protocols to maximize postural control improvement. In this study, we conducted a randomized control experiment with sixty-three healthy subjects to compare the effectiveness of robot-assisted posture training combined with VR or AR against robotic training alone. A robotic Trunk Support Trainer (TruST) was employed to deliver assistive force at the trunk as subjects moved beyond the stability limits during training. Our results showed that both VR and AR significantly enhanced the training outcomes of the TruST intervention. However, the VR group experienced higher simulator sickness compared to the AR group, suggesting that AR is better suited for sitting posture training in conjunction with TruST intervention. Our findings highlight the added value of XR to robot-assisted training and provide novel insights into the differences between AR and VR when integrated into a robotic training protocol. In addition, we developed a custom XR application that suited well for TruST intervention requirements. Our approach can be extended to other studies to develop novel XR-enhanced robotic training platforms.
扩展现实 (XR) 技术将物理现实与计算机合成的虚拟世界相结合，为用户提供沉浸式体验。虚拟现实 (VR) 和增强现实 (AR) 是 XR 的两个子领域，具有不同的沉浸水平。这两者都有可能与机器人辅助训练协议相结合，以最大限度地提高姿势控制的改善。在这项研究中，我们进行了一项随机对照实验，共有六十三名健康受试者参与，比较了机器人辅助姿势训练与 VR 或 AR 相结合与单独机器人训练的效果。使用机器人躯干支撑训练器 (TruST) 在训练过程中当受试者超出稳定性极限时提供躯干辅助力。我们的结果表明，VR 和 AR 都显著增强了 TruST 干预的训练效果。然而，与 AR 组相比，VR 组的模拟器不适感更高，这表明 AR 更适合与 TruST 干预相结合进行坐姿训练。我们的研究结果突出了 XR 对机器人辅助训练的附加价值，并为将 AR 和 VR 集成到机器人训练方案中时的差异提供了新的见解。此外，我们开发了一个定制的 XR 应用程序，非常适合 TruST 干预的要求。我们的方法可以扩展到其他研究中，以开发新的 XR 增强型机器人训练平台。
