Most people don’t think twice about everyday tasks, like opening doors and typing on a keyboard.
However, for those who suffer from paralysis of the hand and fingers, whether it be from injuries or diseases, everyday “easy” tasks can present major issues without the support of assistive technologies.
On average, about 500,000 people end up in a wheelchair each year, and about half of these people also suffer injuries to their hand.
Kyujin Cho at Seoul National University has developed the Exo-Glove Poly in an effort to combat everyday challenges. A soft wearable robot that addresses paralysis of the hand by enabling peoples to grasp and pinch various objects, the flexible, rubber-like robotic glove was inspired by human fingers. The Exo-Glove Poly—Exo being derived from the Greek for ‘outside’ and Poly referring to the glove being made of polymer—is lightweight, compact, and boasts increased usability.
The glove was built to be comfortable enough to be worn every day, is waterproof and, therefore, easy to clean. The glove has three fingers that fit over the wearer’s thumb, index finger, and middle finger, with a soft tendon routing system of wires.
The motor, controlled by a simple switch, pulls on the wires to open and close the hand. Design features allow adjustment to different hand sizes and to protect users from injury, and price, mass production, wearability, and appearance were all taken into consideration early on in the design process.
The device was developed through a cooperation of students with disabled persons. The hope is that more people with disability will be able to live a more independent life, and, overall, the goal of the SNU Biorobotics Lab is to foster and educate innovative and empathetic researchers to become agents of change for the future.
So what’s the Exo-Glove Poly’s future? Cho plans to commercialize the product by end of next year.
Watch the final prototype in action below, and learn about the ongoing research for two-handed tasks.