Rehabilitation robots can support the training of patients with neurological gait disorders. Classical control approaches
permit patients to remain passive during the robot-assisted training. We hypothesize that promoting active participation of
patients will improve training efficacy. In this paper, we evaluate the combination of two existing patient-cooperative control
strategies. These strategies are applicable to robotic exoskeletons that assist a patient walking on a treadmill. The first
strategy, Automatic treadmill speed adaptation, detects the patient’s desired walking speed and accelerates the treadmill
accordingly. The second strategy, Path control, provides spatial guidance of the legs via the rehabilitation robot while the
patient controls the timing of his/her movements. We demonstrate that both strategies can be successfully combined towards
an approach that allows subjects to walk on their own with the support of a robot instead of being passively moved.
Keywords rehabilitation - robotics - patient-cooperative - treadmill - training