Creation of a BruBotics Rehabilitation Research Center

At the VUB, strong expertise has grown in the development of human robotics, both intelligent exoskeletons and prostheses as well as social robots. This domain is preeminently interdisciplinary. In the consortium BruBotics
there is a clear need to investigate the self-developed and
commercially available robotic systems in clinical and
professional target groups. The current application is driven by
the plan to install a BruBotics Rehabilitation Research Center at the Brussels Health Campus to facilitate the interactions between engineers, clinicians, (neuro-)physiologists, biomechanics and nurses to optimize
the development of assistive and rehabilitation robotics.
The research infrastructure requested comprises an Ekso-GT
wearable gait robot, systems to analyze the brain activity related
to robot-assisted movements (EEG/fNIRS), research devices for accurate motion analysis and a number of commercially available exoskeletons for back support during professional activities. The research group REVAL of the University
Hasselt is affiliated as a partner and clinical centers like the University Hospital Brussels and the rehabilitation hospitals RevArte and Inkendaal are also
included. The Erasmus University College is affiliated for robotic application in the domain of nursing