Soft Wearable Robotics for Grasping and Beyond: Integrating Wrist Pronation/Supination for Enhanced Functionality

The development of wearable robots offers a promising solution to assist individuals with impaired motor skills by facilitating rehabilitation exercises and aiding in everyday activities. However, the same object is grasped differently depending on what one plans to do with an object next. Therefore, exploring wearable robots that offer broader support for upper limb functions is a valuable research area. In our study, we introduce a wearable robot targeting the hand and forearm, utilizing tendon-driven actuation and a hybrid active-passive mechanism with a spring blade. This device aids in the extension and flexion of the thumb, index, and middle fingers, while also enabling pronation and supination movements of the forearm. This innovation allows users to perform gripping actions in various forearm positions, expanding the scope of rehabilitation training and practical daily activities. Our findings also demonstrate the device’s capability in executing simple everyday tasks.