Soft robotic glove for combined assistance and at-home rehabilitation

Abstract

This paper presents a portable, assistive, soft robotic glove designed to augment hand rehabilitation for individuals with functional grasp pathologies. The robotic glove utilizes soft actuators consisting of molded elastomeric chambers with fiber reinforcements that induce specific bending, twisting and extending trajectories under fluid pressurization. These soft actuators were mechanically programmed to match and support the range of motion of individual fingers. They demonstrated the ability to generate significant force when pressurized and exhibited low impedance when un-actuated. To operate the soft robotic glove, a control hardware system was designed and included fluidic pressure sensors in line with the hydraulic actuators and a closed-loop controller to regulate the pressure. Demonstrations with the complete system were performed to evaluate the ability of the soft robotic glove to carry out gross and precise functional grasping. Compared to existing devices, the soft robotic glove has the potential to increase user freedom and independence through its portable waist belt pack and open palm design.

Automatic design of fiber-reinforced soft actuators for trajectory matching

“…S13) (22). Time series data of the coordinates of each sensor in 3D space were recorded as the hand was opened and closed.…”

“…1). Whereas similar actuators were previously designed empirically (22,23), here, we propose a robust and efficient strategy to streamline the design process. Furthermore, this strategy is not limited to the specific cases presented here (namely the trajectories of the index finger and thumb) but, rather, could be applied to produce required trajectories in a variety of soft robotic systems, such as locomotion robots, assembly line robots, or devices for pipe inspection.…”

mano: A Wearable Hand Exoskeleton for Activities of Daily Living and Neurorehabilitation

“…Polygerinos et al [15] developed hydraulic-actuated soft muscles capable of controlling fingers flexion from the hand's dorsal side. Although relatively lightweight on the hand (∼285 g), the actuation and control units of this system are rather heavy (∼3.3 kg), limiting the overall portability and usability in ADL.…”

“…Each task was repeated 10 times (trials) for each condition. In the Exoskeleton trials, the device was worn on the right hand and the subject was instructed to restrain any voluntary hand motion in order to let the exoskeleton autonomously [11] Thumb, medium, ring Flexion 12 ∼650 ∼50 Absent Limited Nycz et al [12] All Flexion, extension n/a n/a ∼50 Absent Absent In et al [13] Thumb, index, medium Flexion, extension 20 n/a 194 Absent Absent Kang et al [14] Thumb, index, medium Flexion, extension 29.5 1630 ∼50 Absent Limited Polygerinos et al [15] All Flexion 40 3300 285 Full Absent Varalta et al [16] All Flexion, extension n/a 5000 ∼50 Full Absent implement the task. During the experiment, the beginning and the end of each trial were signaled by graphical cues on a computer screen.…”

Affective Touch and Low Power Artificial Muscles for Rehabilitative and Assistive Wearable Soft Robotics

“…Unfortunately the limitations of rigid robots and their underlying reliance on geared motors and rigid metals and plastics reduces the adaptability and comfort of these devices and elevates their cost and complexity. More recently soft robotic devices have come to the fore as an alternative to rigid robots [3] [4]. Advantages to wearable soft robotics include inherent compliance (and associated increased safety), adaptability, lower cost and higher user acceptability.…”