Abstract

There is an increasing demand for soft wearable assistive devices that can assist finger grip for the elderly and disabled people with weakened hand functions. Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs), which transform themselves and return to their original shape by temperature changes, have been integrated into the development of wearable device actuation. In this study, we have successfully developed a 4D knitting grip assist glove that can assist grip to people with weak finger strength as much as 8 times in the curvature ratio. Further, we developed a soft gripper that can grip soft objects that are typically difficult to grip with existing robot-type machines. This study demonstrated the application potential of SMAs in wearable assistive devices that could be worn or attached to the human body. The outcomes of this study recommend future research to assess user safety and performance enhancement of such wearable devices in real-world contexts.

Highlights

  • There is an increasing demand for soft wearable assistive devices using pneumatic, tendon-based actuation that can assist finger grip for the elderly and disabled people who have weakened hand functions (Kang et al, 2019; Yap et al, 2017)

  • The Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) modules of plain knitting pattern (3 courses x 18 wales, n=10) showed curved shape in the wale direction when supplying a current of 0.3A, and the total time was an average of 17.83±4.12s

  • In order to give the ability of the end of the knitting modules to face each other so that objects can be picked up, a mold was made with a 3D printer (FDM 3D Printer, Stratasys F270) and poured with silicone to form a nail shape and attached to the tips of the gripper

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Summary

Introduction

There is an increasing demand for soft wearable assistive devices using pneumatic, tendon-based actuation that can assist finger grip for the elderly and disabled people who have weakened hand functions (Kang et al, 2019; Yap et al, 2017). Ma et al (2019) and Wang et al (2019) have proposed spring-like SMAs to create air gaps and functional clothing that prevents the temperature rise in the body from external heat These materials have been developed by adding the fourth element (i.e., time), in the three-dimensional (3D) configuration through shape deformation such as contraction, expansion, folding, and unfolding. Wearable devices have been developed to assist the human body using this response of materials over time These forms are mostly in the form of actuators attached to textiles, not flexible textiles themselves. Granberry et al (2019) developed SMAs garments to be fit according to the wearer's body temperature These previous studies suggested the possibility of using the shrinkage function of SMAs textiles in wearable device applications (Hadi et al, 2018). In this study, we developed a 4D knitting grip assist glove, as well as a 4D knitting soft gripper, based on SMAs; and analyzed grip functionality of the integrated grip system using its curvature ratio during the shape changing of its knitting module

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