Assistive Robotics

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Overview

Assistive robotics studies how robots and wearable devices can help people with disabilities, older adults, and patients perform tasks and participate more independently. Approaches include prostheses and exoskeletons controlled by biosignals or learned policies, shared-autonomy systems for manipulation and navigation, and social robots for therapy and care. Systems are tested in simulations, laboratory tasks, clinical or home settings, and user studies that measure safety, task success, physical effort, workload, and user experience. A central challenge is balancing useful autonomy with user agency and safety while making assistance both personalized and reliable across people, tasks, and real-world environments.

Latest papers

CardsList

208 papers27 papers in the last four weeks, down 16% on the four weeks before. 0.2% of all new papers.

  1. Improving Human Diving Endurance with a Field-Deployable Exoskeleton

    Jun 10, 2026Zhihao Zhou, Zhenmeng Ju, Chenxi Zhang +4Underwater RoboticsAssistive Robotics

    Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China · Beijing Engineering Research Center of Intelligent Rehabilitation Engineering, Beijing 100871, China · School of Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China +3

  2. JOIN: Anchor-Grasp-Conditioned Joining via Opposition, Inference, and Navigation for Bimanual Assistive Manipulation

    Jun 9, 2026Drake Moore, Matt Cheng, Xiang Zhi Tan +1Mobile ManipulationBimanual Robotic Manipulation

    Northeastern University, Boston MA 02115, USA

  3. EM-Fall: Embodied mmWave Sensing for Day-and-Night Fall Detection on Humanoid Robots

    Jun 9, 2026Yanshuo Lu, Yuxuan Hu, Shenghai Yuan +5Fall DetectionmmWave Radar Sensing

    MARS Lab · NTU · IOT Lab

  4. Exploration of Foundation Model-Based Robots in Patient and Elderly Care

    Jun 8, 2026Zhiwen Qiu, Wei Liu, Yuexing HaoHealthcare RoboticsRobot Foundation Models

    1Cornell University, Ithaca, 14850, USA · Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, 85054, USA · 3Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

  5. Personalized and Robust Proactive Robot Assistance with Uncertainty-Guided LLM Reasoning

    Jun 7, 2026Alvaro Gonzalez, M. H. Hasan Shovo, Ali AyubMarkov ModelsAssistive Robotics

    Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8, Canada

  6. End-to-End Control of a Powered Knee-Ankle Prosthesis Towards Unified, Tuning-Free Assistance

    Jun 5, 2026John Shim, Christoph Nuesslein, Sixu Zhou +3Robot LocomotionAssistive Robotics

    Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0405 USA · Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0405 USA

  7. Simulation-Driven Imitation Learning for Biosignals-Free Shared-Autonomy Prosthetic Grasping

    Jun 5, 2026Kaijie Shi, Wanglong Lu, Huiling Chen +4Robotic GraspingRobotics Simulation

    Department of Computer Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X5, Canada · College of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325000, China · Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X5, Canada

  8. What Is My Robot Thinking? Design Considerations for Transparent and Trustworthy Shared Autonomy

    Jun 5, 2026Atharv Belsare, Zohre Karimi, Connor Mattson +2Trust in HRIShared Autonomy

    Kahlert School of Computing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. · Robotics Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.

  9. SoftPINCH: EMG-Driven Soft Exoskeleton Assistance for Finger Flexion and Grasping

    Jun 3, 2026Nicklas Nikolaj Grønvall, Magnus Malthe Sigsgaard Nielsen, Xiaofeng Xiong +1EMG-Based Gesture RecognitionRobotic Grasping

    SDU Soft Robotics, The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

  10. OLIVE: Online Low-Rank Incremental Learning for Efficient Adaptive Exoskeletons

    Jun 3, 2026Dong Liu, Yanxuan Yu, Ben Lengerich +2Robotic ControlLow-Rank Adaptation

    University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, California, USA · Columbia University New York, New York, USA · University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, Wisconsin, USA +1

  11. Improved Postural Stability Using a Lightweight Semi-Active Soft Back Support Device Under Standing Perturbations

    Jun 1, 2026Rohan Khatavkar, Jiefeng Sun, Hyunglae LeeRoboticsAssistive Robotics

    The authors are with the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.

  12. MindClaw: Closed-Loop Embodied Mental-State Reasoning for Precision Intervention

    May 31, 2026Ruoxuan Zhang, Qiaoqiao Wan, Zhengguang Wang +4Theory of MindAssistive Robotics

    Jilin University · Microsoft Asia · National Taiwan University

  13. SoFiE: Soft Finger Exoskeleton for Intelligent Grasping

    May 29, 2026Magnus Malthe Sigsgaard Nielsen, Nicklas Nikolaj Grønvall, Xiaofeng Xiong +1Robotic GraspingTactile Sensing

    SDU Soft Robotics, SDU Biorobotics, The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute, University of Southern Denmark (SDU), 5230 Odense M, Denmark

  14. Synthetic Emotions vs. Gamification: Exploring Engagement Strategies for Small Social Robots in Different Age Groups

    May 26, 2026Morten Roed Frederiksen, Kasper StøyAssistive RoboticsHuman-Robot Interaction

    Data Systems & Robotics Department of The IT-University of Copenhagen

  15. PACT: Proactive Asking for Continual Task Assistance in Human-Robot Collaboration

    May 23, 2026Chengbo He, Sheng Li, Chenyang Ma +6Proactive AssistanceHuman-Robot Collaboration

    University of Science and Technology Beijing · University of Oxford · 3Tsinghua University

  16. Perception of Social Robots as Communication Partners in Healthcare for Older Adults

    May 20, 2026Hana Yamamoto, Carlotta Julia Mayer, Charlotte Raithel +5Healthcare RoboticsRobotics

    Institute for Anthropomatics and Robotics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Adenauerring 12, Karlsruhe, 76131, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. · Department of Robotics, Tohoku University, Aramaki Aza Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8579, Miyagi, Japan. · Institute of Medical Psychology, Heidelberg University, Bergheimer Str. 20, Heidelberg, 69115, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. +2

  17. CANINE: Coaching Visually Impaired Users for Interactive Navigation with a Robot Guide Dog

    May 19, 2026Cunjun Yu, Zishuo Wang, Anxing Xiao +2Assistive RoboticsHuman-Robot Interaction

    School of Computing, 2Smart Systems Institute National University of Singapore

  18. TouchDrive: Electronics-Free Tactile Sensing Interface for Assistive Grasping

    May 7, 2026Jing Xu, Xuezhi Niu, Didem Gurdur Broo +1Tactile SensingHaptic Feedback

    Division of Microsystems Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering · Cyber-Physical Systems Lab, Department of Information Technology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

  19. Adaptive Gait Generation for Multi-Terrain Exoskeletons via Constrained Kernelized Movement Primitives

    May 4, 2026Edoardo Trombin, Miroljub Mihailovic, Matheus Henrique Ferreira Moura +3Upper-Limb ExoskeletonsRobot Locomotion

    Department of Information Engineering, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy

  20. What Does a Meow Mean? In Search of Intuitively Understandable Communication by a Nonverbal Companion Robot

    May 2, 2026Vivienne Bihe Chi, Claudia B. Rébola, Bertram F. MalleAssistive RoboticsHuman-Robot Interaction

    Brown University, Providence RI 02912, USA · University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH 45221, USA

  21. Walk With Me: Long-Horizon Social Navigation for Human-Centric Outdoor Assistance

    Apr 29, 2026Lingfeng Zhang, Xiaoshuai Hao, Xizhou Bu +11Social Robot NavigationVLMs for Robotics

    Tsinghua University · Pengcheng Laboratory · Xiaomi EV +5

  22. Persona-Based Process Design for Assistive Human-Robot Workplaces for Persons with Disabilities

    Apr 29, 2026Nils Mandischer, Daria Eckert and, Lars MikelsonsHuman-Robot CollaborationHuman-Centered AI

    Chair of Mechatronics, University of Augsburg, 86159 Augsburg, Germany

  23. MEMOR-E: In-Context and Fine-Tuned LLM Personalization for Alzheimer's Assistive Robotics

    Apr 28, 2026Maissa Abir Smaili, Eren Sadikoglu, Ransalu SenanayakeAlzheimer's DiseaseLLM Personalization

    Istanbul Medipol University Istanbul, Türkiye · Arizona State University Tempe, USA

  24. Skeleton-Based Posture Classification to Promote Safer Walker-Assisted Gait in Older Adults

    Apr 27, 2026Sergio D. Sierra M., Monica Sinha, Marcela Múnera +1Human Activity RecognitionAssistive Robotics

    Bristol Robotics Laboratory, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. · Faculty of Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.

  25. Clinical Evaluation of a Tongue-Controlled Wrist Abduction-Adduction Assistance in a 6-DoF Upper-Limb Exoskeleton for Individuals with ALS and SCI

    Apr 22, 2026Juwairiya S. Khan, Mostafa Mohammadi, Alexander L. Ammitzbøll +7Upper-Limb ExoskeletonsAssistive Robotics

    Neurorehabilitation Robotics and Engineering, Center for Rehabilitation Robotics, Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Gistrup, Denmark · Department of Materials and Production, Aalborg University, Aalborg East, Denmark · Spinal Cord Injury Centre of Western Denmark, Regional Hospital of Viborg Denmark +3

  26. A Tendon-Driven Wrist Abduction-Adduction Joint Improves Performance of a 5 DoF Upper Limb Exoskeleton -- Implementation and Experimental Evaluation

    Apr 21, 2026Juwairiya S. Khan, Mostafa Mohammadi, Alexander L. Ammitzbøll +8Upper-Limb ExoskeletonsAssistive Robotics

    Neurorehabilitation Robotics and Engineering research group, Center for Rehabilitation Robotics, Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Gistrup, Denmark · Department of Materials and Production, Aalborg University, Aalborg East, Denmark · Spinal Cord Injury Centre of Western Denmark, Regional Hospital of Viborg Denmark +3

  27. Design, Modelling and Experimental Evaluation of a Tendon-driven Wrist Abduction-Adduction Mechanism for an upper limb exoskeleton

    Apr 21, 2026Juwairiya S. Khan, Mostafa Mohammadi, John Rasmussen +1Assistive RoboticsTendon-Driven Actuation

    Neurorehabilitation Robotics and Engineering, Center for Rehabilitation Robotics, Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg East, Denmark

  28. Equanimity in HRI: Applying Calm Technology Principles to Human-Robot Interaction

    Apr 20, 2026Barbara Sienkiewicz, Bipin IndurkhyaRoboticsAssistive Robotics

    Cognitive Science Department, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland

  29. Momentum-constrained Hybrid Heuristic Trajectory Optimization Framework with Residual-enhanced DRL for Visually Impaired Scenarios

    Apr 16, 2026Yuting Zeng, Zhiwen Zheng, Jingya Wang +6Trajectory OptimizationAssistive Robotics

    School of Information and Software Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, Sichuan, P.R. China · Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. · Research Unit for Blindness Prevention, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences and Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.

  30. Adaptor: Advancing Assistive Teleoperation with Few-Shot Learning and Cross-Operator Generalization

    Apr 10, 2026Yu Liu, Yihang Yin, Tianlv Huang +8Robot TeleoperationRobot Learning

    School of Artificial Intelligence, Jilin University. · IO-AI TECH.