Design and Exploration of Feedforward Haptic Feedback in Anthropomorphically-Driven Prostheses

Here, we present a wearable, anthropomorphically-driven prosthesis with a built-in haptic feedback system. The device was designed and built to accommodate specific design parameters. Two control schemes were proposed and compared in a user study with N=6 able-bodied participants performing the Box and Blocks test. The first control scheme was designed to provide an intuitive, human-like actuation and relaxation of the hand, while the other controller was designed to reduce fatigue from sustaining EMG signals. Participants performed significantly better with lower fatigue levels while using the intuitive controller as opposed to the second controller. In addition, task performance with both controllers was better than reported performance with standard myoelectric prostheses. In addition, a second experiment compared the unilateral manual dexterity of N=3 able-bodied participants under three distinct conditions: vibration haptic feedback, skin stretch haptic feedback, and no haptic feedback. These findings suggest that there is utility in wearable anthropomorphically-driven prostheses, and provide support for future studies aimed at exploring anthropomorphically-driven prostheses