KNTU-RoboGlove: Design of a Pneumatic Soft Robotic Glove

This paper introduces an innovative advancement in the field of wearable assistive technology by presenting a revolutionary portable soft robotic glove designed to assist individuals with hand impairments during rehabilitation exercises and daily tasks. The glove offers both active finger flexion and passive extension to aid in hand support and rehabilitative training. It achieves this by utilizing integrated soft actuators, including a variable stiffness layer and a pneumatic-driven layer, which guide specific bending, twisting, and extending movements when air pressure is applied. Notably, the variable stiffness layer takes inspiration from pangolins, whose scales are pliable during daily activities but become rigid when facing threats. To provide increased power with enhanced stiffness, a toothed pneumatic actuator is specially designed. The three-finger soft glove is manufactured by molding super-elastic material, creating the actuator mold using a 3D printer. The glove’s grasping abilities have been thoroughly tested, and experimental results demonstrate that, when compared to previously developed elastomeric-based actuators, these actuators can generate substantial force and torque to facilitate finger flexion even at lower air pressure levels. This capability allows the glove to grasp a wide range of objects, assisting individuals in their rehabilitative training. Furthermore, a control system for grasping has been developed, which includes motion processing unit sensors for collecting feedback signals aligned with the actuators, along with a closed-loop controller for regulating the pressure. In contrast to existing devices, this glove, thanks to its portable design, has the potential to significantly enhance user autonomy and independence.