Soft robotic haptic interface with variable stiffness for rehabilitation of sensorimotor hand function
AssigneeArizona Board of Regents on behalf of Arizona State University
InventorsPanagiotis Polygerinos, Frederick Sebastian, Qiushi Fu, Marco Santello
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Abstract
A pneumatically-actuated soft robotics-based variable stiffness haptic interface device for rehabilitation of a hand includes a body having a flexible outer wall and a cavity defined by the outer wall, the outer wall including a plurality of grooves configured to receive a fiber wound around the outer wall. The device further includes a pneumatic actuator in communication with the cavity and configured to provide pressure to the cavity.
Claims17
A pneumatically-actuated soft robotics-based variable stiffness haptic interface device for rehabilitation of a hand, the device comprising:
- a body including a flexible outer wall and a cavity defined by the outer wall, the outer wall including a plurality of grooves configured to receive a fiber wound around the outer wall, wherein the body is sized and shaped to be gripped by the hand during use;
- and
- a pneumatic actuator in communication with the cavity and configured to provide pressure to the cavity;
- wherein in an open loop mode the pneumatic actuator is configured to provide a predetermined pressure to the cavity and an internal pressure of the cavity is allowed to increase with an increased force applied to the device, and wherein in a closed loop mode the pneumatic actuator is configured to provide constant control, the cavity is given a starting pressure, and the internal pressure is configured to be maintained at the starting pressure as increased force is applied to the device.
A pneumatically-actuated soft robotics-based variable stiffness haptic interface device for rehabilitation of a hand, the device comprising:
- a cylindrical body including a flexible outer wall and a cavity defined by the outer wall;
- a pneumatic actuator in communication with the cavity and configured to provide pressure to the cavity,
- a pressure sensor to monitor a pressure in the cavity, and
- a valve configured to regulate the pressure in the cavity in response to a user supplied force that acts radially on the flexible outer wall;
- wherein the pressure sensor is configured to measure the pressure of the cavity, and
- wherein the pressure measured by the pressure sensor of the cavity is greater than a predetermined pressure as the user supplied force applied to the device increases.
A pneumatically-actuated soft robotics-based variable stiffness haptic interface device for rehabilitation of a hand, the device comprising:
- a cylindrical body including a flexible outer wall and a cavity defined by the outer wall;
- a pneumatic actuator in communication with the cavity and configured to provide pressure to the cavity;
- a pressure sensor to monitor a pressure in the cavity;
- a valve configured to regulate the pressure in the cavity in response to a user supplied force that acts radially on the flexible outer wall;
- a controller coupled to the valve, wherein the controller is configured to open and close the valve to regulate a flow of air into and out of the cavity and to maintain a constant pressure within the cavity when the user applies the radial user supplied force;
- wherein the body is cylindrical and has a diameter between 35 mm and 45 mm, and has a height between 115 mm and 125 mm, wherein the body is configured to be gripped by a hand of the user.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.