Mechanical Design of a Novel Hand Exoskeleton Driven by Linear Actuators

This paper presents the mechanical design of a novel hand exoskeleton for assistance and rehabilitation therapies. As a solution for the movement transmission, the proposed device uses modular linkage that are attached to each finger by means of snap-in fixations. The linkage is kinematically and dynamically analyzed by means of simulations with AnyBody Simulation Software to obtain an estimation of the range of motion and admissible forces. In order to check the deviations of the real performance respect to the simulated results, due to uncertain variables, a first prototype is built and tested.

[1]  B. F. BuSha,et al.  A power-assisted exoskeleton optimized for pinching and grasping motions , 2010, Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE 36th Annual Northeast Bioengineering Conference (NEBEC).

[2]  Rahsaan J. Holley,et al.  Hand Spring Operated Movement Enhancer (HandSOME): A Portable, Passive Hand Exoskeleton for Stroke Rehabilitation , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering.

[3]  Silvia Appendino,et al.  Human Hand: Kinematics, Statics and Dynamics , 2011 .

[4]  Yoji Yamada,et al.  Proposal of a SkilMate finger for EVA gloves , 2001, Proceedings 2001 ICRA. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.01CH37164).

[5]  Kotaro Tadano,et al.  Development of grip amplified glove using bi-articular mechanism with pneumatic artificial rubber muscle , 2010, 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[6]  José María Sabater Navarro,et al.  Modular and self-adaptive robotic device for hand rehabilitation and use procedure , 2014 .

[7]  Ren G Dong,et al.  Analysis of musculoskeletal loading in an index finger during tapping. , 2008, Journal of biomechanics.

[8]  Jorge A. Díez,et al.  Multimodal robotic system for upper-limb rehabilitation in physical environment , 2016 .

[9]  R M Smith,et al.  Static friction properties between human palmar skin and five grabrail materials , 2001, Ergonomics.

[10]  G. Gini,et al.  An EMG-controlled exoskeleton for hand rehabilitation , 2005, 9th International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics, 2005. ICORR 2005..

[11]  K. Y. Tong,et al.  An EMG-driven exoskeleton hand robotic training device on chronic stroke subjects: Task training system for stroke rehabilitation , 2011, 2011 IEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics.

[12]  Nan Gui,et al.  Advanced approaches of modeling and measurement for turbulence and heat transfer , 2016 .

[13]  Soo-Jin Lee,et al.  Current hand exoskeleton technologies for rehabilitation and assistive engineering , 2012 .