Hernandez-Barraza Luis, Fraiszudeen Azmall, Yuan Lee Daniel Lim, Chen-Hua Yeow Raye
Evolution Innovation Lab, Advanced Robotics Centre, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Front Robot AI. 2023 Jul 25;10:1164819. doi: 10.3389/frobt.2023.1164819. eCollection 2023.
The development of soft robotic hand exoskeletons for rehabilitation has been well-reported in the literature, whereby the emphasis was placed on the development of soft actuators for flexion and extension. Little attention was focused on developing the glove interface and attachments of actuators to the hand. As these hand exoskeletons are largely developed for personnel with impaired hand function for rehabilitation, it may be tedious to aid the patients in donning and doffing the glove, given that patients usually have stiff fingers exhibiting high muscle tone. To address this issue, a hybrid securing actuator was developed and powered pneumatically to allow for rapid securing and release of a body segment. As a proof of concept, the actuator was further adapted into a self-securing glove mechanism and assembled into a complete self-securing soft robotic hand exoskeleton with the attachment of bidirectional actuators. Our validation tests show that the self-wearing soft robotic hand exoskeleton can easily conform and secure onto the human hand and assist with manipulation tasks.
用于康复的软机器人手部外骨骼的发展在文献中已有充分报道，其中重点在于用于屈伸的软致动器的开发。很少有人关注手套接口以及致动器与手部的连接。由于这些手部外骨骼主要是为手部功能受损的人员进行康复而开发的，考虑到患者通常手指僵硬且肌张力高，帮助患者穿戴和脱下手套可能会很繁琐。为了解决这个问题，开发了一种混合固定致动器，并通过气动驱动，以实现身体部位的快速固定和松开。作为概念验证，该致动器进一步被改造成一种自固定手套机构，并与双向致动器相连组装成一个完整的自固定软机器人手部外骨骼。我们的验证测试表明，这种自穿戴式软机器人手部外骨骼能够轻松贴合并固定在人手上，并协助完成操作任务。
