Technical Evaluation of the MACARM: A Cable Robot for Upper Limb Neurorehabilitation

This paper describes the technical evaluation of the Multi-Axis Cartesian-based Arm Rehabilitation Machine (MACARM), a cable robot for upper limb rehabilitation. The MACARM was evaluated for static and dynamic positional accuracy, force performance, speed and work volume. Results indicate positional errors smaller than 1% of the movement magnitude, indicating stable performance throughout the tested range. In addition, the MACARM demonstrated favorable path repeatability, a critical element for Reach and play square approaches to robotic rehabilitation. However, measurements indicated a coupling between the end-effector position and orientation, which may impact force performance. In the next phase of this project, we will use the data collected in the technical evaluation to optimize the kinematic model to address this issue.