Development of a Soft, Spring-Like Finger Tendon Exo-Glove Design with a Four-Output Cable-Driven Linear Servomechanism

Powered hand exoskeletons offer a viable solution to improve the quality of life for individuals experiencing hand paralysis caused by cardiovascular diseases (e.g., stroke). While hand rehabilitation exoskeleton gloves aid in regaining hand functionality, enabling users to perform a variety of active daily living tasks for independent living remains challenging. This paper presents the Rehabilitative Tendon Actuated Control Hand Exo-Glove, a lightweight, soft exo-glove that uses springlike finger tendons driven by four actuated rack and pinion transmission for finger flexion and extension. Force validation experiments measured fingertip forces during actuation, with average values of 4.95 N (thumb), 4.66 N (index), 6.61 N (middle), and 3.89 N (ring). The exo-glove achieves a maximum hand grasping force of 21 N, an open/close grasping time of 1.2 seconds, and successfully handles objects up to 450 g. These performance metrics meet healthy hand grasping criteria while offering a lighter and more affordable solution compared to other exogloves with large, complex set of actuator design components.