Robotic devices for rehabilitation and training is a promising and challenging research topic with a potentially huge social impact. The availability of tools for autonomously performing physiotherapy exercises increases their efficiency, provides supplementary information about results and progress, reduces physiotherapists’ efforts and the need of their physical presence during exercise sessions, and encourages autonomy and independence in people with disabilities. Nevertheless, supportive technologies developed without the inputs and feedback of the end-user throughout the design process are less likely to be adopted for their intended purpose and use case. In this article, we propose a modular hand/wrist exoskeleton that actuates the wrist flexion/extension and adduction/abduction motions and hand fingers flexion/extension motions. It is designed to be wearable and easy to control and manage and can be used by the patient in collaboration with the physiotherapist or autonomously. A user-centered design perspective has been employed in all the design and development phases. This article introduces the main features of the device and presents some tests conducted with a user having limited hand and wrist mobility.

In recent decades, extensive attention has been paid to the study and development of robotic devices specifically designed for hand rehabilitation. Accordingly, a many concepts concerning rigid, soft, and hybrid types have emerged in the literature, with significant ongoing activity being directed towards the development of new solutions. In this context, the paper focuses on the technical features of devices conceived for the robotic rehabilitation of the hand with reference to the three kinds of exoskeleton architecture and the clinical requirements demanded by the target impairment of the end-user. The work proposes a roadmap (i) for both the design and selection of exoskeletons for hand rehabilitation, (ii) to discriminate among the peculiarities of soft, rigid, and hybrid devices, and (iii) with an impairment-oriented rationale. The clinical requirements expected for an exoskeleton are identified by applying a PICO-inspired approach focused on the impairment analysis; the technical features are extracted from a proposed design process for exoskeletons combined with a narrative literature review. A cross-analysis between device families and features is presented to provide a supporting tool for both the design and selection of exoskeletons according to an impairment-oriented rationale.

This letter introduces a collaborative gripper designed for safe interactions during wearing operations. In a robotic system helping people to get dressed, two main goals have to be achieved: i) the gripper that potentially comes in contact with the person has to be intrinsically safe and ii) the gripper should be able to keep the cloth during dressing, e.g. while passing the arm inside the sleeve of a jacket. This letter proposes the DressGripper, a gripper that addresses these issues by combining a compliant and safe structure with an additional magnetic actuation at the fingertips. This combination enables a soft interaction with the robot while guaranteeing the necessary grasping tightness. Experiments with the proposed prototype demonstrate its applicability in robotic dressing assistance scenarios.

This letter introduces a lightweight, three-degrees-of-freedom exoskeleton for wrist rehabilitation powered by Twisted String Actuators (TSAs), specifically designed to support flexion/extension, radial/ulnar deviation, and pronation/supination movements. Leveraging the high power-to-weight ratio of TSA actuation system, the exoskeleton ensures effective, comfortable, and personalized rehabilitation exercises. The device comprises five TSAs arranged in a tendon-driven configuration, enabling precise control and adaptability to various user anatomies. The experimental evaluations was conducted on a prototype demonstrating the device's ability to accurately replicate wrist movements guided by a physiotherapist, achieving low tracking errors (RMSE $\leq$ 1$^{\circ }$). The exoskeleton effectively achieves the desired wrist range of motion—115$^{\circ }$ for flexion/extension, 70$^{\circ }$ for radial/ulnar deviation, and 150$^{\circ }$ for pronation/supination—with torque capabilities suitable for rehabilitation purposes (0.35 Nm for flexion/extension and radial/ulnar deviation, and 0.06 Nm for pronation/supination).