Toyota Announces Will Begin Trial Leasing of Physical Rehabilitation Aid Robots to Medical Facilities in Japan

Toyota Motor Corporation TM will begin trial leasing of newly developed clinical research versions of its “Walk Training Assist” and “Balance Training Assist” robots to 20 medical facilities in Japan this autumn. The clinical research versions are improved versions of those announced in 2011 as part of the Toyota Partner Robot series. The improved robots are aimed to help in the rehabilitation of patients who find it difficult to walk or maintain balance due to illness or injury. Development of the new robots began at the end of 2007 in collaboration with Fujita Health University Hospital in Toyoake, Aichi Prefecture. Since 2011, Toyota has been working with medical facilities to test and improve the robots, particularly in regard to improving user-friendliness by streamlining training functions based on motor-learning theory. Click here to see the full press release.