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Jul 18, 2016

Robot therapist hits the spot with athletes

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, biotech/medical, robotics/AI

Perfect; I actually was thinking about robots as personal trainers and sparring partners for boxers. I love boxing as a workout and had thought about having a robot as a sparring partner as well as my weight/ strength training.

BTW — another concept is to build into the weight training machines AI technology to assist users. Think about if the machine sensors that the users’ muscle is about to strain that the machine takes the weight off or lightens the weight on the user of the equipment. And, if the machine senses that the person is about to have an heart attack, etc. that the equipment contacts 911, etc.


Trials of a prototype robot for sports therapy have just begun in Singapore, to create a high quality and repeatable treatment routine to improve sports recovery, reducing reliance on trained therapists.

The robot named Emma, short for Expert Manipulative Massage Automation, has already treated 50 patients in trials including professional athletes for conditions ranging from tennis elbows, stiff neck and shoulders, to lower back pain.

Emma is a robotic arm that comes with a 3D stereoscopic camera and a custom made 3D-printed massage tip. It uses sensors and diagnostic functions to measure the response of a patient and the stiffness of a particular muscle or tendon. The detailed diagnostics are analysed and uploaded to the cloud so the patient’s recovery can be closely monitored over time.

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