Soft Biomimetic Prosthetic Hand: Design, Manufacturing and Preliminary Examination

Fraś, Jan; Althoefer, Kaspar

doi:10.1109/iros.2018.8593666

Cited by 45 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Such an approach is not limited to cylindrical actuation chambers. In [21,10] we proposed a double-chamber conical actuator capable of varying the bending direction and in [15] we proposed a rotary actuation with toroidal actuation chamber. However, in case the actuator has axial symmetry, the reinforcement can be easily deployed by rotating the rod (Figures 8a and 8b).…”

Section: The Reinforcementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They also promise an opportunity to simplify the control strateges when compared to traditional robots [2]. For those reasons they are considered to be suitable for many applications such as medical applications (minimal invasive surgery [3], laparoscopy [4], rehabilitation [5]) a human-robot cooperation [6,7], grasping [8] or prosthetics [9,10]. There are plenty of actuators that offer various actuation principles and motion types.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Soft Fiber-Reinforced Pneumatic Actuator Design and Fabrication: Towards Robust, Soft Robotic Systems

Fraś

Althoefer

2019

Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems

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Soft robotics is a rapidly evolving, young research area. So far there are no well-established design standards nor fabrication procedures for soft robots. A number of research groups are working on soft robotics solutions independently and we can observe a range of designs realized in different ways. These soft robots are based on various actuation principles, are driven with various actuation media, and offer various actuation properties. Still, most of them require lots of manual effort and high manual fabrication skills from the person manufacturing these kinds of robots. A significant share of the proposed designs suffers from some imperfections that could be improved by simple design changes. In this work, we propose a number of design and fabrication rules for improving the performance and fabrication complexity of soft fiber-reinforced pneumatic actuators. The proposed design approach focuses on a circular geometry for the pressure chambers and applying a dense, fiber-based reinforcement. Such an approach allows for a more linear actuator response and reduced wear of the actuators, when compared to previous approaches. The proposed manufacturing procedure introduces the application of the reinforcement before the fabrication of the actuator body, significantly reducing the required fabrication effort and providing more consistent and more reliable results.

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Section: The Reinforcementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soft Fiber-Reinforced Pneumatic Actuator Design and Fabrication: Towards Robust, Soft Robotic Systems

Fraś

Althoefer

2019

Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems

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“…Due to the lack of compliance and flexibility in the structure of these robotic hand prostheses, additional mechanisms are also needed to make them safe for the physical interaction with humans and objects. For instance, passive flexible components like springs are added or using complex sensing mechanisms (such as tactile sensors) has been investigated in order to achieve the desired compliance using an extra control loop [5]. Consequently, they affect the weight of the resulting prosthetic hands and increase the complexity, need for maintenance and cost while potentially lowering durability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A practical 3D-printed soft robotic prosthetic hand with multi-articulating capabilities

et al. 2020

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Soft robotic hands with monolithic structure have shown great potential to be used as prostheses due to their advantages to yield light weight and compact designs as well as its ease of manufacture. However, existing soft prosthetic hands design were often not geared towards addressing some of the practical requirements highlighted in prosthetics research. The gap between the existing designs and the practical requirements significantly hampers the potential to transfer these designs to real-world applications. This work addressed these requirements with the consideration of the trade-off between practicality and performance. These requirements were achieved through exploiting the monolithic 3D printing of soft materials which incorporates membrane enclosed flexure joints in the finger designs, synergy-based thumb motion and cable-driven actuation system in the proposed hand prosthesis. Our systematic design (tentatively named X-Limb) achieves a weight of 253gr, three grasps types (with capability of individual finger movement), power-grip force of 21.5N, finger flexion speed of 1.3sec, a minimum grasping cycles of 45,000 (while maintaining its original functionality) and a bill of material cost of 200 USD (excluding quick disconnect wrist but without factoring in the cost reduction through mass production). A standard Activities Measure for Upper-Limb Amputees benchmark test was carried out to evaluate the capability of X-Limb in performing grasping task required for activities of daily living. The results show that all the practical design requirements are satisfied, and the proposed soft prosthetic hand is able to perform all the real-world grasping tasks of the benchmark tests, showing great potential in improving life quality of individuals with upper limb loss.

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“…It is an essential tool capable of bringing sensitivity, operating in diverse environments, performing sophisticated movements with precision and with different degrees of freedom (Cordella et al 2016). It is a structure that consists of mechanisms capable of adapting and manipulating objects of different shapes, textures, and weights (Fras and Althoefer 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

3D fingerprint design proposal using spider movement mechanism and soft robotic technology

2020

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Purpose With recent advances in the field of 3D printing, new prosthetic features have been developed to provide accessibility to patients. However, the mechanisms employed for its performance still need to be better explored. In this article, a study is proposed on the angular variation between the joints of a human finger and a design solution based on soft robotics, in order to guide studies on prosthetic solutions. Methods A literature review was carried out on the applications of pneumatic actuators of soft robotics for the development of hand prostheses. As part of the theoretical aspects, the application of bending actuators that employ the dynamics of the movement of the legs of arachnids was also studied, in order to propose an application in the model. Finally, the angular variation was analyzed during the closing process of the right hand in order to apply the study in the construction of the prosthesis. Results Despite the complexity of moving human fingers, it is possible to develop a prosthetic mechanism that integrates the capabilities of soft actuators and 3D-printed materials. In addition, the angulations of the joints of the index finger vary differently under the same impulse. Conclusion Using the spider's movement mechanism, it is possible to develop a pneumatic actuator integrated with the rigid structures of the printed finger. In addition, the angular variation of the joints of the index finger changes differently under the same stimulus, which allows the application of soft robotics as a resource to mimic human movement.

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Soft Biomimetic Prosthetic Hand: Design, Manufacturing and Preliminary Examination

Cited by 45 publications

References 12 publications

Soft Fiber-Reinforced Pneumatic Actuator Design and Fabrication: Towards Robust, Soft Robotic Systems

Soft Fiber-Reinforced Pneumatic Actuator Design and Fabrication: Towards Robust, Soft Robotic Systems

A practical 3D-printed soft robotic prosthetic hand with multi-articulating capabilities

3D fingerprint design proposal using spider movement mechanism and soft robotic technology

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