Hand and Wrist Exoskeleton for Delicate, Repetitive Tasks

This research aims to design and develop a novel hand and wrist exoskeleton that reduces the risk of RSI repetitive strain injury, allowing the user to conduct repetitive, delicate tasks safely and accurately.
The objectives of the project are listed below:
To review the relevant literature.
To design and develop a novel hand and wrist exoskeleton.
To develop a mathematical model and perform theoretical analysis.
To develop the control system for the exoskeleton.
To perform simulation studies using various tools.
To conduct experimentation for various tasks.
A literature review will be undertaken at the start of this project, where the state-of-the-art of hand-finger exoskeletons will be reviewed. The literature on RSI repetitive strain injury, Carpal tunnel and mechanical preventative measures will also be reviewed, and the data collected will form the basis for the design of the full hand and wrist exoskeleton.
The Hand and Wrist Exoskeleton will be designed using 3D CAD software such as Solidworks considering all the design requirements and constraints which will be gathered from literature and consulting with the stakeholders. The exoskeleton design will be validated using a simulation study. A prototype of the designed exoskeleton will be developed. Few sensors such as accelerometers, hall sensors, force sensors, pressure sensors and flex sensors will be used for data acquisition and feedback control.
The mechanism for the hand-finger exoskeleton will utilise cable linkage for force transmission, as it is more delicate and lightweight, whereas other mechanical linkage methods are typically bulky and delicate control is required (Li et al., 2020). The wrist-hand mechanism will be passive, designed to not restrict all wrist degrees of freedom, i.e. flexion, extension, abduction and adduction. It will provide a comfortable rest of the wrist for steadying the hand against a surface, allowing for greater stability while performing delicate tasks.
Mathematical model of the exoskeleton will be developed, and theoretical analysis will be performed. A control algorithm will be developed for the exoskeleton based on the finger and hand movement. Simulation studies will be performed using Matlab/Simulink and VREP and the algorithm will be implemented at the exoskeleton. The experiments will be conducted for various tasks to validate the capability of the exoskeleton and the performance of the control algorithm. The whole process can be repeated to improve the exoskeleton design and control of the exoskeleton.