Development of a compliant hand assistive device

Author

Goutam, Siddharth ; Aw, Kean C.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Mech. Eng., Univ. of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

fYear

2014

fDate

10-12 Sept. 2014

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

6

Abstract

A hand assistive device that assists people with limited ability to grip with their fingers is proposed here. The device allows free movement of the fingers and the wrist regardless of the device´s operational state. The concepts were developed to be lightweight and portable. A cable drive mechanism is used to provide an assistive downward force for the middle phalanx of the finger while the user grips an object. This resembles the functionality of tendons that attach human muscles to bones. The power transmission mechanism involves a differential mechanism that uses a spring to transfer the force of a linear actuator as cable tension. The prototype is implemented on the dorsal side of the hand and it allows for free movement of the fingers when the device is not in use.

Keywords

handicapped aids; medical robotics; assistive downward force; cable drive mechanism; cable tension; compliant hand assistive device; differential mechanism; grip assistance; linear actuator force; power transmission mechanism; spring; Actuators; Assistive devices; Force; Joints; Springs; Thumb; cable transmission; differential mechanisms; hand assistive glove;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Mechatronic and Embedded Systems and Applications (MESA), 2014 IEEE/ASME 10th International Conference on

Conference_Location

Senigallia

Print_ISBN

978-1-4799-2772-2

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/MESA.2014.6935521

Filename

6935521