Design and Characterization of a Passive Instrumented Hand

Abstract

Although soft robotic assistive gloves have high potential for restoring functional independence for individuals with motor impairment, their lack of rigid components makes it difficult to obtain accurate position sensing to validate their performance. To track soft device motion, standard practice relies on costly optical motion capture techniques, which have reduced accuracy due to limitations in marker occlusion and device deformation. We propose the Instrumented Hand as a low-cost, open-source measurement tool to serve as a standard solution for acquiring joint-level position and torque measurements from magnetoresistive sensors. Shown in a case study, the Instrumented Hand can be used to validate soft wearable devices and evaluate range of motion (ROM) and torque capabilities.