Development and Evaluation of Fiber Reinforced Modular Soft Actuators and an Individualized Soft Rehabilitation Glove

In soft rehabilitation gloves, Individualized support considering users' morphological and biomechanical characteristics is a next critical step towards use in rehabilitation practice. Compared with single-structure soft actuators for each finger, which require to be designed for each user, modular soft actuators enable the support for each joint by adjusting rigid connectors which are easier to fabricate. Several modular actuators have been developed, however, neither their support performance (bending angle, torque) nor individual adaptability has been appropriately evaluated. In this study, we proposed a new modular soft actuator that improved the support performance with enlarged chambers and fiber reinforcement. Moreover, we made a soft rehabilitation glove with the proposed actuators and conducted an objective evaluation for both actuators and the soft rehabilitation glove with a dummy finger and hand. As a result, the new modular soft actuators showed better support performance, and the soft rehabilitation glove can support multiple grasping profiles.