Wearable Robotic Glove Design Using Surface-Mounted Actuators.

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Biomechanics
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Traditional robotic hands often use rigid actuators, limiting adaptability.
• Existing designs struggle to replicate the complex, multi-DOF motions of human hands.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, scalable wearable robotic glove (exo-glove) for versatile hand actuation.
• To enable natural finger motions, including abduction/adduction and flexion/extension, using a biomimetic approach.

Main Methods:

• The exo-glove design utilizes multiple tendons woven onto its surface to actuate finger joints.
• Tendons are allocated to mimic intrinsic and extrinsic hand muscles for comprehensive motion.
• Actuators are placed on the glove's surface, avoiding direct joint actuation.

Main Results:

• The exo-glove successfully deforms the robotic finger's skin to actuate underlying joints.
• Achieved natural finger motions, including abduction/adduction and flexion/extension.
• Enabled power grips and human-like thumb motion through specialized tendon allocation.

Conclusions:

• The proposed exo-glove design offers a scalable solution adaptable to various hand kinematics.
• This approach allows any hand skeleton to function as a robotic hand, increasing design freedom.
• The biomimetic features are beneficial for traditional robotic hands, prosthetic devices, and power-assisted hand gloves.