Integration of Self-Sealing Suction Cups on the FLEXotendon Glove-II Robotic Exoskeleton System

This article presents a hand exoskeleton using self-sealing suction cup modules to assist and simplify various grasping tasks. Robotic hands, grippers, and hand rehabilitation exoskeletons require complex motion planning and control algorithms to manipulate various objects, which increases system complexity. The proposed hand exoskeleton integrated with self-sealing suction cup modules provides simplified grasping with the assistance of suction. The suction cup has a self-sealing mechanism with a passive opening valve and it reduces vacuum consumption and pump noise. The gimbal mechanism allows the suction cup to have a wide range of contact angles, which increases adaptability of grasping of the exoskeleton. The fabrication process of the device is introduced with the suction cup design and material selection. The vacuum canister and solenoid valve that comprise the proposed pneumatic circuit provide a continuous vacuum supply source without continuous operation of a vacuum pump and autonomous suction/release motion, respectively. The performance of the hand exoskeleton was demonstrated with various grasping tasks and it provided stable grasping and pick-and-place task without complex finger manipulation. The proposed hand exoskeleton has the potential to simplify the grasping process and allow patients with hand dysfunction to expand their versatility of grasping tasks.