Towards a soft pneumatic glove for hand rehabilitation

TLDR

The study presents preliminary results on designing, developing, and evaluating a soft‑robotic hand rehabilitation glove. The glove uses elastomeric pneumatic actuators (PneuNets) whose bending curvature and force response were modeled with geometry and finite‑element analysis, then fabricated and mechanically characterized before being integrated into an open‑palm glove. Experimental results matched FEM predictions, and a qualitative evaluation indicated the glove performs as intended for hand rehabilitation.

Abstract

This paper presents preliminary results for the design, development and evaluation of a hand rehabilitation glove fabricated using soft robotic technology. Soft actuators comprised of elastomeric materials with integrated channels that function as pneumatic networks (PneuNets), are designed and geometrically analyzed to produce bending motions that can safely conform with the human finger motion. Bending curvature and force response of these actuators are investigated using geometrical analysis and a finite element model (FEM) prior to fabrication. The fabrication procedure of the chosen actuator is described followed by a series of experiments that mechanically characterize the actuators. The experimental data is compared to results obtained from FEM simulations showing good agreement. Finally, an open-palm glove design and the integration of the actuators to it are described, followed by a qualitative evaluation study.