Smart Prosthetic Hand with Object Slippage Detection, Measurement, and Control

The human hand along with its fingers possess one of the highest numbers of nerve endings in the human body. It thus has the capacity for the richest tactile feedback for positioning capabilities. This article shares a new technique of controlling slippage. The sensing system used for the detection of slippage is a modified force sensing resistor (FSR®). The control system is a fuzzy logic control algorithm with multiple rules that is designed to be processed on a mobile handheld computing platform and integrated/working alongside a traditional Electromyography (EMG) or Electroencephalography (EEG) based control system used for determining position of the fingers. A 5 Degrees of Freedom (DOF) hand, was used to test the slippage control strategy in real time. First a reference EMG signal was used for getting the 5 DOF hand to grasp an object, using position control. Then a slip was introduced to see the slippage control strategy at work. The results based on the plain tactile sensory feedback and the modified sensory feedback are discussed.