Design of a Two-DOFs driving mechanism for a motion-assisted finger exoskeleton

Carbone, Giuseppe; Gerding, Eike Christian; Corves, Burkard; Cafolla, Daniele; Russo, Matteo; Ceccarelli, Marco

Abstract

© 2020 by the authors. This paper presents a novel exoskeleton mechanism for finger motion assistance. The exoskeleton is designed as a serial 2-degrees-of-freedom wearable mechanism that is able to guide human finger motion. The design process starts by analyzing the motion of healthy human fingers by video motion tracking. The experimental data are used to obtain the kinematics of a human finger. Then, a graphic/geometric synthesis procedure is implemented for achieving the dimensional synthesis of the proposed novel 2 degrees of freedom linkage mechanism for the finger exoskeleton. The proposed linkage mechanism can drive the three finger phalanxes by using two independent actuators that are both installed on the back of the hand palm. A prototype is designed based on the proposed design by using additive manufacturing. Results of numerical simulations and experimental tests are reported and discussed to prove the feasibility and the operational effectiveness of the proposed design solution that can assist a wide range of finger motions with proper adaptability to a variety of human fingers.

Citation

Carbone, G., Gerding, E. C., Corves, B., Cafolla, D., Russo, M., & Ceccarelli, M. (2020). Design of a Two-DOFs driving mechanism for a motion-assisted finger exoskeleton. Applied Sciences, 10(7), https://doi.org/10.3390/app10072619

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 8, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Apr 10, 2020
• Publication Date: Apr 10, 2020
• Deposit Date: May 25, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: May 29, 2020
• Journal: Applied Sciences
• Electronic ISSN: 2076-3417
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 7
• Article Number: 2619
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/app10072619
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4371243
• Publisher URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/7/2619