A Dual-Action Fabric-Based Soft Robotic Glove for Ergonomic Hand Rehabilitation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a customizable, fabric-based soft robotic glove with dual-action actuators designed for ergonomic hand rehabilitation, demonstrating improved comfort, functionality, and preliminary effectiveness in assisting individuals with hand impairments.

Contribution

The study presents a novel dual-action fabric-based soft robotic glove with customized actuators, enhancing ergonomics, comfort, and functional assistance for hand rehabilitation.

Findings

Actuators generate sufficient force for daily tasks.

Glove assistance reduces forearm muscle activity in healthy subjects.

Preliminary feasibility shows improved grasp patterns in spinal cord injury patients.

Abstract

Hand impairment following neurological disorders substantially limits independence in activities of daily living, motivating the development of effective assistive and rehabilitation strategies. Soft robotic gloves have attracted growing interest in this context, yet persistent challenges in customization, ergonomic fit, and flexion-extension actuation constrain their clinical utility. Here, we present a dual-action fabric-based soft robotic glove incorporating customized actuators aligned with individual finger joints. The glove comprises five independently controlled dual-action actuators supporting finger flexion and extension, together with a dedicated thumb abduction actuator. Leveraging computer numerical control heat sealing technology, we fabricated symmetrical-chamber actuators that adopt a concave outer surface upon inflation, thereby maximizing finger contact area and improving comfort. Systematic characterization confirmed that the actuators generate sufficient joint moment and fingertip force for ADL-relevant tasks, and that the complete glove system produces adequate grasping force for common household objects. A preliminary study with ten healthy subjects demonstrated that active glove assistance significantly reduces forearm muscle activity during object manipulation. A pilot feasibility study with three individuals with cervical spinal cord injury across seven functional tasks indicated that glove assistance promotes more natural grasp patterns and reduces reliance on tenodesis grasp, although at the cost of increased task completion time attributable to the current actuation interface. This customizable, ergonomic design represents a practical step toward personalized hand rehabilitation and assistive robotics.