Tailor-Made Hand Exoskeletons at the University of Florence: From Kinematics to Mechatronic Design

Machines

Lapo Governi¹  Benedetto Allotta¹  Nicola Secciani¹  Matteo Bianchi¹  Alessandro Ridolfi¹  Yary Volpe¹  Federica Vannetti²  Massimo Bianchini³ 

[1] Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy;IRCCS Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation, Via di Scandicci, 269, 50143 Florence, Italy;Institute for Complex Systems, National Research Council, Via Madonna del Piano, 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy;

关键词: biomechanical engineering;    wearable robotics;    hand exoskeleton;    mechanism design and optimization;    kinematic analysis;    mechatronics;   

DOI  :  10.3390/machines7020022

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Recently, robotics has increasingly become a companion for the human being and assisting physically impaired people with robotic devices is showing encouraging signs regarding the application of this largely investigated technology to the clinical field. As of today, however, exoskeleton design can still be considered a hurdle task and, even in modern robotics, aiding those patients who have lost or injured their limbs is surely one of the most challenging goal. In this framework, the research activity carried out by the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Florence concentrated on the development of portable, wearable and highly customizable hand exoskeletons to aid patients suffering from hand disabilities, and on the definition of patient-centered design strategies to tailor-made devices specifically developed on the different users’ needs. Three hand exoskeletons versions will be presented in this paper proving the major taken steps in mechanical designing and controlling a compact and lightweight solution. The performance of the resulting systems has been tested in a real-use scenario. The obtained results have been satisfying, indicating that the derived solutions may constitute a valid alternative to existing hand exoskeletons so far studied in the rehabilitation and assistance fields.

【 授权许可】

Unknown