A soft, synergy-based robotic glove for grasping assistance

Abstract

This paper presents a soft, tendon-driven, robotic glove designed to augment grasp capability and provide rehabilitation assistance for postspinal cord injury patients. The basis of the design is an underactuation approach utilizing postural synergies of the hand to support a large variety of grasps with a single actuator. The glove is lightweight, easy to don, and generates sufficient hand closing force to assist with activities of daily living. Device efficiency was examined through a characterization of the power transmission elements, and output force production was observed to be linear in both cylindrical and pinch grasp configurations. We further show that, as a result of the synergy-inspired actuation strategy, the glove only slightly alters the distribution of forces across the fingers, compared to a natural, unassisted grasping pattern. Finally, a preliminary case study was conducted using a participant suffering from an incomplete spinal cord injury (C7). It was found that through the use of the glove, the participant was able to achieve a 50% performance improvement (from four to six blocks) in a standard Box and Block test.

Data Fusion-Based Musculoskeletal Synergies in the Grasping Hand

“…The results show promise that fusion synergies can improve movement reconstruction. In the areas of neuroscience [ 38 , 39 , 40 ], rehabilitation [ 38 , 41 , 42 ], sports [ 43 , 44 , 45 ] and robotics [ 46 , 47 ], synergies have proven to be an efficient method for understanding motor control and motor learning of the artificial and paralyzed limbs from a reduced dimensional space. It remains to be seen if embedding these fusion synergies into the above areas can possibly enhance their performance.…”

Portable 3D-printed hand orthosis with spatial stiffness distribution personalized for assisting grasping in daily living

“…Most existing hand orthoses include multiple actuators to assist dexterous finger movements for rehabilitation purposes. The hand orthoses comprise exoskeletons ( Ryu et al, 2008 ; Chiri et al, 2009 ; Ho et al, 2011 ; Ates et al, 2015 ), tendon-driven gloves ( Wege and Zimmermann, 2007 ; Ueki et al, 2012 ; Aiple and Schiele, 2013 ; Borboni et al, 2016 ; Xiloyannis et al, 2016 ; Kim and Park, 2018 ; Burns and Vinjamuri, 2020 ; Alicea et al, 2021 ), and inflatable robotic gloves ( Cappello et al, 2018 ; Nuckols et al, 2020 ). The exoskeletal orthoses can assist fingers with accurately controlled joint movements; however, they inherently suffer from poor portability due to their heavy weight.…”

Soft, Lightweight Wearable Robots to Support the Upper Limb in Activities of Daily Living: A Feasibility Study on Chronic Stroke Patients

“…In the last decade, research endeavours have shifted the focus towards softer devices. Typically created from deformable materials that improve their biomimetic properties, these wearable robots are generally more ergonomic and safer [10][11][12][13][14]. The soft properties of these devices are intrinsically related to the type of actuation, being based mostly either in fluidic or cable transmissions.…”

“…For example, O'Neill et al [12] placed a textile pneumatic actuator under the arm to support shoulder abduction by inflating and pushing the arm upwards, while 2 smaller actuators pivot the arm horizontally. Using cable-based actuation, Alicea et al [11] employ tendons connected to a multi-diameter spool that actuate the fingers according to the first postural synergy of the hand.…”