Design of an Exoskeleton as a Finger-Joint Angular Sensor

Abstract

Estimation of joint angles for human joints is important for many applications in bioengineering. Most of the existing angular joint sensors rely on the approximate assumption of the knowledge of the type of motion and location of the joint. This paper presents a new design for the measurement of finger joint angular motion. The design presented here consists of an exoskeleton, designed to fit the f inger motion, in which we can relate the angular displacement of its links to the change in orientation of the phalanx under consideration. Unlike other designs, the exoskeleton does not need any information about the actual anatomy and dimensions of the hand in order to provide with the angular information. The design is to be used in myoelectrical signal identification.