Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ROBOTICS RESEARCH
Volume 36, Issue 3, Pages 355-375Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
DOI: 10.1177/0278364917694428
Keywords
Thumb exoskeleton; torque control; series elastic actuator; kinematic transparency; workspace analysis
Categories
Funding
- National Science Foundation (NSF) [CNS-1135949]
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) [NNX12AM03G]
- Division Of Computer and Network Systems
- Direct For Computer & Info Scie & Enginr [1135949] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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We present an exoskeleton capable of assisting the human thumb through a large range of motion. Our novel thumb exoskeleton has the following unique features: (i) an underlying kinematic mechanism that is optimized to achieve a large range of motion, (ii) a design that actuates four degrees of freedom of the thumb, and (iii) a series elastic actuation based on a Bowden cable, allowing for bidirectional torque control of each thumb joint individually. We present a kinematic model of the coupled thumb exoskeleton system and use it to maximize the range of motion of the thumb. Finally, we carry out tests with the designed device on four subjects to evaluate its workspace and kinematic transparency using a motion capture system and torque control performance. Results show that the device allows for a large workspace with the thumb, is kinematically transparent to natural thumb motion to a high degree, and is capable of accurate torque control.
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