Hand Exoskeleton Systems—Overview

Abstract This chapter aims to provide an overview of the research and development of modern active hand exoskeleton systems. These systems are characterized by the ability to actively control one or more degrees of freedom (DOF) of at least one finger with respect to a mechanical ground attached to the hand or forearm. Hand exoskeletons are frequently complex devices due to the required human–robot interaction, small size of the hand, and many DOFs of the hand. Creation, operation, and testing of hand exoskeletons is an interdisciplinary field, as it requires knowledge of electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, and frequently medicine, anatomy, and physiology. The requirements and challenges for hand exoskeletons vary largely, as do the resulting designs, depending on their application. Hand exoskeletons can be broadly categorized into assistive devices meant to replace impaired hand functioning, rehabilitation systems aimed at recovering functionality lost due to injury or medical conditions, augmentation exoskeletons designed to enhance the users’ abilities above their normal levels, and other devices such as those used for teleoperation or virtual reality haptic devices. This chapter provides a review of 40 hand exoskeletons across these applications.