A Biorealistic Computational Model Unfolds Human-Like Compliant Properties for Control of Hand Prosthesis.

Human neuromuscular reflex control provides a biological model for a compliant hand prosthesis. Here we present a computational approach to understanding the emerging human-like compliance, force and position control, and stiffness adaptation in a prosthetic hand with a replica of human neuromuscular reflex. A virtual twin of prosthetic hand was constructed in the MuJoCo environment with a tendon-driven anthropomorphic hand structure. Biorealistic mathematic models of muscle, spindle, spiking-neurons and monosynaptic reflex were implemented in neuromorphic chips to drive the virtual hand for real-time control. Simulation showed that the virtual hand acquired human-like ability to control fingertip position, force and stiffness for grasp, as well as the capacity to interact with soft objects by adaptively adjusting hand stiffness. The biorealistic neuromorphic reflex model restores human-like neuromuscular properties for hand prosthesis to interact with soft objects.