ABSTRACT
This chapter defines an assistive robotic manipulator (ARM) and describes its differences for industrial and service robots, identifies potential end users and the added value of an ARM, and describes the basic requirements for an ARM in relation to the needs of potential end users. It explains the functions of an ARM, and lists possible uses of an ARM as an augmentative manipulation assistive technology and commercially available ARMs and their main features and limitations. The chapter addresses robotic manipulators with at least 6 degrees of freedom (DOF). This number of DOF is the minimum required to be able to position and orient arbitrarily an object in three-dimensional (3-D) space. Industrial robots mostly have dedicated end-effectors for dedicated tasks, often with an end-effector exchange option. Based on the definition of an ARM, the chapter describes the potential end user. In general an end user would be anyone who has no or limited arm or hand function.
