Assessing Transparency of Robots, Exoskeletons, and Assistive Devices: A Systematic Review
Transparency is a key requirement for some classes of robots, exoskeletons, and assistive devices (READs), where safe and efficient human–robot interaction is crucial. Typical fields that require transparency are rehabilitation and industrial contexts. However, the definitions of transparency adopte...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| author | Nicol Moscatelli Cristina Brambilla Valentina Lanzani Lorenzo Molinari Tosatti Alessandro Scano |
| author_facet | Nicol Moscatelli Cristina Brambilla Valentina Lanzani Lorenzo Molinari Tosatti Alessandro Scano |
| author_sort | Nicol Moscatelli |
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| description | Transparency is a key requirement for some classes of robots, exoskeletons, and assistive devices (READs), where safe and efficient human–robot interaction is crucial. Typical fields that require transparency are rehabilitation and industrial contexts. However, the definitions of transparency adopted in the literature are heterogeneous. It follows that there is a need to clarify, summarize, and assess how transparency is commonly defined and measured. Thus, the goal of this review is to systematically examine how transparency is conceptualized and evaluated across studies. To this end, we performed a structured search across three major scientific databases. After a thorough screening process, 20 out of 400 identified articles were further examined and included in this review. Despite being recognized as a desirable and essential characteristic of READs in many domains of application, our findings reveal that transparency is still inconsistently defined and evaluated, which limits comparability across studies and hinders the development of standardized evaluation frameworks. Indeed, our screening found significant heterogeneity in both terminology and evaluation methods. The majority of the studies used either a mechanical or a kinematic definition, mostly focusing on the intrinsic behavior of the device and frequently giving little attention to the device impact of the user and on the user’s perception. Furthermore, user-centered or physiological assessments could be examined further, since evaluation metrics are usually based on kinematic and robot mechanical metrics. Only a few studies have examined the underlying motor control strategies, using more in-depth methods such as muscle synergy analysis. These findings highlight the need for a shared taxonomy and a standardized framework for transparency evaluation. Such efforts would enable more reliable comparisons between studies and support the development of more effective and user-centered READs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1409f102ec734e4c81840f8f17186859 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-1409f102ec734e4c81840f8f171868592025-08-20T03:32:18ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-07-012514444410.3390/s25144444Assessing Transparency of Robots, Exoskeletons, and Assistive Devices: A Systematic ReviewNicol Moscatelli0Cristina Brambilla1Valentina Lanzani2Lorenzo Molinari Tosatti3Alessandro Scano4Institute of Intelligent Industrial Technologies and Systems for Advanced Manufacturing (STIIMA), Italian National Research Council (CNR), 20139 Milano, ItalyInstitute of Intelligent Industrial Technologies and Systems for Advanced Manufacturing (STIIMA), Italian National Research Council (CNR), 20139 Milano, ItalyInstitute of Intelligent Industrial Technologies and Systems for Advanced Manufacturing (STIIMA), Italian National Research Council (CNR), 20139 Milano, ItalyInstitute of Intelligent Industrial Technologies and Systems for Advanced Manufacturing (STIIMA), Italian National Research Council (CNR), 20139 Milano, ItalyInstitute of Intelligent Industrial Technologies and Systems for Advanced Manufacturing (STIIMA), Italian National Research Council (CNR), 20139 Milano, ItalyTransparency is a key requirement for some classes of robots, exoskeletons, and assistive devices (READs), where safe and efficient human–robot interaction is crucial. Typical fields that require transparency are rehabilitation and industrial contexts. However, the definitions of transparency adopted in the literature are heterogeneous. It follows that there is a need to clarify, summarize, and assess how transparency is commonly defined and measured. Thus, the goal of this review is to systematically examine how transparency is conceptualized and evaluated across studies. To this end, we performed a structured search across three major scientific databases. After a thorough screening process, 20 out of 400 identified articles were further examined and included in this review. Despite being recognized as a desirable and essential characteristic of READs in many domains of application, our findings reveal that transparency is still inconsistently defined and evaluated, which limits comparability across studies and hinders the development of standardized evaluation frameworks. Indeed, our screening found significant heterogeneity in both terminology and evaluation methods. The majority of the studies used either a mechanical or a kinematic definition, mostly focusing on the intrinsic behavior of the device and frequently giving little attention to the device impact of the user and on the user’s perception. Furthermore, user-centered or physiological assessments could be examined further, since evaluation metrics are usually based on kinematic and robot mechanical metrics. Only a few studies have examined the underlying motor control strategies, using more in-depth methods such as muscle synergy analysis. These findings highlight the need for a shared taxonomy and a standardized framework for transparency evaluation. Such efforts would enable more reliable comparisons between studies and support the development of more effective and user-centered READs.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/14/4444transparencyexoskeletonsassistive devicesrehabilitationindustrymotor control |
| spellingShingle | Nicol Moscatelli Cristina Brambilla Valentina Lanzani Lorenzo Molinari Tosatti Alessandro Scano Assessing Transparency of Robots, Exoskeletons, and Assistive Devices: A Systematic Review Sensors transparency exoskeletons assistive devices rehabilitation industry motor control |
| title | Assessing Transparency of Robots, Exoskeletons, and Assistive Devices: A Systematic Review |
| title_full | Assessing Transparency of Robots, Exoskeletons, and Assistive Devices: A Systematic Review |
| title_fullStr | Assessing Transparency of Robots, Exoskeletons, and Assistive Devices: A Systematic Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing Transparency of Robots, Exoskeletons, and Assistive Devices: A Systematic Review |
| title_short | Assessing Transparency of Robots, Exoskeletons, and Assistive Devices: A Systematic Review |
| title_sort | assessing transparency of robots exoskeletons and assistive devices a systematic review |
| topic | transparency exoskeletons assistive devices rehabilitation industry motor control |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/14/4444 |
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