A study on different localities of Soft Exoskeleton for hand grasping using pneumatic actuator

Abstract

This project is related to the soft exoskeleton for hand grasping using pneumatic actuator on different localities. The device is lightweight and easy wearable due to the usage of soft pneumatic actuator. The number of studies of soft exoskeleton for using pneumatic actuator for rehabilitation is insufficient particularly in Asian region and lack of data of soft exoskeleton at the localities to improve the smoothness change of relative joint angle. The analysis is expected to show that the number of slits on localities will affect the bending motion profile of the actuator. This project intends to study the dimension between the DIP joint, PIP joint and MCP joint angles using different materials which are Ecoflex and Dragon Skin 20 because both material will give a different results. Besides that, the aim is to design and develop soft exoskeleton for rehabilitation purpose in Malaysia due to different size and grasping force based on region. The fabrication of the mold will be based on the range of dimension of the fingers that has been collected, the design of the mold will be done using Catia Software and the mold will be developed using 3D printer. The effectiveness of number of the slits on localities will be analysed and if it is suitable and the bending motion of grasping is smooth, the development of soft pneumatic exoskeleton will be proceeding and the data will be collected and analysed. The data for radius of curvature and force output upon pressurization will be analysed for design 1 and design 2 using both Ecoflex and Dragon Skin 20.