Retrofitting Soft Assistive Robots with Sew-Free Sensing Garments for Joint Motion Tracking and Kinematic Feedback.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Rehabilitation Technology
• Wearable Sensors

Background:

• Accurate human movement tracking is crucial for robot-assisted rehabilitation, offering kinematic feedback for range of motion, repetition counting, and closed-loop control.
• Existing motion tracking solutions are often expensive, inaccessible, or difficult to integrate with soft assistive robotic systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel, cost-effective, and easily manufacturable skin-tight sensing garment for real-time kinematic feedback during robot-assisted rehabilitation.
• To demonstrate the garment's efficacy in tracking wrist and finger movements with high accuracy.

Main Methods:

• Developed sew-free, laminated sensing garments utilizing commercial flex sensors.
• Integrated the sensing garments with a soft robotic wrist orthosis and a soft rehabilitation glove.
• Validated the garment's performance by comparing its wrist tracking accuracy to motion capture systems.

Main Results:

• The sensing garment achieved less than 5° root mean squared error (RMSE) in tracking wrist position compared to motion capture.
• Demonstrated the adaptability of the garment design for other joints, such as the index finger, for uniaxial motion tracking.
• Confirmed the ease of manufacturing using inexpensive, readily available materials.

Conclusions:

• The developed sensing garments offer a promising, accessible method for real-time kinematic feedback in robot-assisted rehabilitation.
• The sew-free lamination strategy and use of commercial flex sensors enable rapid, low-cost production.
• The approach is extensible to various joints and rehabilitation devices, broadening its applicability in physical therapy.