A team led by Purdue assistant professor Johannes Lachner and former MIT student Noah Geiger built a robot that uses generative AI and force feedback to mimic a therapist’s assistance. The machine watches real therapists, learns their movements, and then helps patients reach, lift and perform daily‑living tasks. Initial lab tests proved the concept works, and the next step is to create therapist‑specific models and run a long‑term clinical study with the same patients who had manual therapy.
Why it matters
If successful, the robot could let therapists treat more stroke survivors despite therapist shortages.
