IEEE Trans Haptics. 2023 Apr-Jun;16(2):311-321. doi: 10.1109/TOH.2023.3273908. Epub 2023 Jun 20.
We present a novel soft exoskeleton providing active support for hand closing and opening. The main novelty is a different tendon routing, folded laterally on both sides of the hand, and adding clenching forces when the exoskeleton is activated. It improves the stability of the glove, diminishing slippage and detachment of tendons from the hand palm toward the grasping workspace. The clenching effect is released when the hand is relaxed, thus enhancing the user's comfort. The alternative routing allowed embedding a single actuator on the hand dorsum, resulting more compact with no remote cable transmission. Enhanced adaptation to the hand is introduced by the modular design of the soft polymer open rings. FEM simulations were performed to understand the interaction between soft modules and fingers. Different experiments assessed the desired effect of the proposed routing in terms of stability and deformation of the glove, evaluated the inter-finger compliance for non-cylindrical grasping, and characterized the output grasping force. Experiments with subjects explored the grasping performance of the soft exoskeleton with different hand sizes. A preliminary evaluation with Spinal Cord Injury patients was useful to highlight the strengths and limitations of the device when applied to the target scenario.
我们提出了一种新型的软外骨骼，为手的闭合和张开提供主动支撑。主要的新颖之处在于一种不同的肌腱布线，在手的两侧横向折叠，并在软外骨骼激活时增加紧握力。它提高了手套的稳定性，减少了肌腱从手掌向抓握工作空间的滑动和脱离。当手放松时，紧握效果会释放，从而提高用户的舒适度。这种替代布线允许在手背嵌入单个执行器，从而更紧凑，无需远程电缆传输。软聚合物开放式环的模块化设计引入了对双手的增强适应性。通过有限元模拟研究了软模块和手指之间的相互作用。不同的实验评估了所提出布线在手套稳定性和变形方面的预期效果，评估了非圆柱形抓握的手指间顺应性，并对输出抓握力进行了表征。针对不同手型的受试者进行了实验，探索了软外骨骼的抓握性能。与脊髓损伤患者进行的初步评估有助于突出该设备在应用于目标场景时的优势和局限性。
