Soft robotic approaches have been trialed for rehabilitation or assistive hand exoskeletons using silicone or textile actuators because they have more tolerance for alignment with biological joints than rigid exoskeletons. Textile actuators have not been previously evaluated, and this study compares the mechanical properties of textile and silicone actuators used in hand exoskeletons. The physical dimensions, the air pressure required to achieve a full bending motion, and the forces generated at the tip of the actuator were measured and compared. The results showed that the construction method of the silicone actuators is slower than the textile actuators, but it generates better dimensional accuracy. However, the air pressure required for the actuators to generate a full bending motion is significantly lower for textile actuators, and the blocking force generated at that pressure is 35% higher in the textile actuators. There are significant differences across all variables compared, indicating that actuators constructed using pleated textile techniques have greater potential for the construction of an exoskeleton for hand rehabilitation or assistance.

Functional tests aim to compare the functionality of a prosthesis with a human hand. The main objective of this work is to present and evaluate an affordable prosthesis (PrHand) built with soft robotic technologies and novel joints based on compliant mechanisms. Two functional tests have been selected in this work. The first is the AHAP protocol, which evaluates how the prosthesis performs eight different grips; three variables are considered: grasping, maintaining, and grasping ability score (GAS). The results were 69.03% with 57.77% in grasping and 80.28% in maintaining. The second test is the AM-ULA, which evaluates the prosthesis by performing 23 Activities of Daily Living. PrHand prosthesis had a score of 2.5 over 4.0. The functionality of the PrHand prosthesis has similar results to other prostheses evaluated in the literature. The comparison with the human hand was 69%. PrHand presents a promising solution for amputees in developing countries regarding cost and functionality.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract