Multifunctional Robotic Glove with Active-Passive Training Modes for Hand Rehabilitation and Assistance

Soft robotic gloves have shown great advantages in assisting individuals with hand pathologies to perform continuous exercises to restore their hand functions, which could considerably accelerate the rehabilitation process and reduce the costs. However, single rehabilitation mode, difficulty in achieving multiple degrees-of-freedom (DoF) motion, and the lack of high-fidelity feedback still challenge the development of soft robotic gloves. In this paper, we propose a novel design of a robotic glove based on soft-rigid hybrid joint actuators and minimal clutches. We first introduce structures and working principles of the proposed bending joint actuator in detail and then characterize the single joint actuator. Furthermore, we present a performance evaluation of the whole robotic glove in both active and passive modes. Preliminary experimental results showed that (1) in the active training mode, the tested human hand's muscle effort needed to conduct gross finger flexion increased from 11.16% to 42.60% of the maximum value when the air pressure inside the minimal clutches changed from 0 kPa to 200 kPa; (2) in the passive mode, the 10-DoF robotic glove could assist the tested hand to perform various training exercises and grasp various objects with different hand postures. This paper focuses on the integrated design of multi-DoF structures and variable stiffness mechanisms, which will have an impact on the development of multifunctional soft robots and wearable devices.