No Access

Preliminary Theoretical Considerations on the Stiffness Characteristics of a Tensegrity Joint for the Use in Dynamic Orthoses

Leon Schaeffer

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, OTH Regensburg, Seybothstraße 2, 93053 Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany

E-mail Address: [email protected]

Corresponding author.

Search for more papers by this author

David Herrmann

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, OTH Regensburg, Seybothstraße 2, 93053 Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany

E-mail Address: [email protected]

Search for more papers by this author

Thomas Schratzenstaller

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, OTH Regensburg, Seybothstraße 2, 93053 Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany

Regensburg Center of Biomedical Engineering, OTH Regensburg, Galgenbergstraße 30, 93053 Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany

E-mail Address: [email protected]

Search for more papers by this author

Sebastian Dendorfer

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, OTH Regensburg, Seybothstraße 2, 93053 Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany

Regensburg Center of Biomedical Engineering, OTH Regensburg, Galgenbergstraße 30, 93053 Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany

E-mail Address: [email protected]

Search for more papers by this author

, and

Valter Böhm

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, OTH Regensburg, Seybothstraße 2, 93053 Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany

E-mail Address: [email protected]

Search for more papers by this author

https://doi.org/10.1142/S2424905X23400081Cited by:1 (Source: Crossref)

This article is part of the issue:

Special Issue on International Symposium on Medical Robotics 2023 (ISMR 2023)
Guest Editors: Iulian Ioan Iordachita, Mahdi Tavakoli and Elena De Momi

Abstract

Early motion therapy plays an important role for effective long-term healing of joint injuries. In many cases, conventional dynamic orthoses fail to address the intricate movement possibilities of the underlying joints, limited by their simplistic joint representations, often represented by revolute joints, enabling rotations by only one axis. In this paper, a two-dimensional compliant tensegrity joint for use in biomedical applications is investigated. It consists of two compressed members and five compliant tensioned members. Relative movement possibilities are realized by the intrinsic compliance of the structure. In the development of these systems, the first step is the determination of the static stable equilibrium. This analysis is conducted in this paper by considering the potential energy approach or by using the geometric nonlinear finite element method. The mechanical behavior of the structure is assessed with a specific emphasis on its mechanical compliance. The primary objective of this study is the investigation of the influence of structural parameters on the overall stiffness and movability of the structure. The results underscore the significant effect of member parameters on the stiffness and movability of the compliant tensegrity joint, particularly under varying load magnitudes. These findings provide insights for optimizing the joint’s performance, contributing to its potential application in advanced orthotic and exoskeleton devices.

Published in JMRR Special Issue on International Symposium on Medical Robotics (ISMR 2023). Guest Editor: Mahdi Tavakoli.

NOTICE: Prior to using any material contained in this paper, the users are advised to consult with the individual paper author(s) regarding the material contained in this paper, including but not limited to, their specific design(s) and recommendation(s).

Keywords:

References

1. S. Nieminen, M. Nurmi and U. Isberg , Hand injuries in Finland, Scand. J. Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 15 (1981) 57–60. Google Scholar
2. M. Smith, J. Auchincloss and M. Ali , Causes and consequences of hand injury, J. Hand Surg. 10 (1985) 288–292. Crossref, Google Scholar
3. P. Angermann and M. Lohmann , Injuries to the hand and wrist. A study of 50,272 injuries, J. Hand Surg. 18 (1993) 642–644. Crossref, Google Scholar
4. M. Bhende, L. Dandrea and H. Davis , Hand injuries in children presenting to a pediatric emergency department, Ann. Emerg. Med. 22 (1993) 1519–1523. Crossref, Google Scholar
5. R. Vadivelu, J. Dias, F. Burke and J. Stanton , Hand injuries in children: A prospective study, J. Pediatr. Orthop. 26 (2006) 29–35. Crossref, Google Scholar
6. M. Trybus, J. Lorkowski, L. Brongel and W. Hladki , Causes and consequences of hand injuries, Am. J. Surg. 192 (2006) 52–57. Crossref, Google Scholar
7. J. Dias and M. Garcia-Elias , Hand injury costs, Injury 37 (2006) 1071–1077. Crossref, Google Scholar
8. L. Robinson, M. Sarkies, T. Brown and L. O’Brien , Direct, indirect and intangible costs of acute hand and wrist injuries: A systematic review, Injury 47 (2016) 2614–2626. Crossref, Google Scholar
9. C. Lambelet, M. Lyu, D. Woolley, R. Gassert and N. Wenderoth , The eWrist — A wearable wrist exoskeleton with sEMG-based force control for stroke rehabilitation, in 2017 Int. Conf. Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR) (London, UK, 2017), pp. 726–733. Crossref, Google Scholar
10. L. Sutton, H. Moein, A. Rafiee, J. Madden and C. Menon , Design of an assistive wrist orthosis using conductive nylon actuators, in 2016 6th IEEE Int. Conf. Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob) (IEEE, Singapore, 2016), pp. 1074–1079. Crossref, Google Scholar
11. S. Sangha, A. Elnady and C. Menon , A compact robotic orthosis for wrist assistance, in 2016 6th IEEE Int. Conf. Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob) (IEEE, Singapore, 2016), pp. 1080–1085. Crossref, Google Scholar
12. K. Kiguchi, R. Esaki and T. Fukuda , Development of a wearable exoskeleton for daily forearm motion assist, Adv. Robot. 19 (2005) 751–771. Crossref, Google Scholar
13. J. Realmuto and T. Sanger , A robotic forearm orthosis using soft fabric-based helical actuators, in 2019 2nd IEEE Int. Conf. Soft Robotics (RoboSoft) (IEEE, Seoul, South Korea, 2019), pp. 591–596. Crossref, Google Scholar
14. S. Park, J. Yi, D. Kim, Y. Lee, H. Koo and Y. Park , A lightweight, soft wearable sleeve for rehabilitation of forearm pronation and supination, in 2019 2nd IEEE Int. Conf. Soft Robotics (RoboSoft) (IEEE, Seoul, South Korea, 2019), pp. 636–641. Crossref, Google Scholar
15. W. Meng, B. Sheng, M. Klinger, Q. Liu, Z. Zhou and S. Xie , Design and control of a robotic wrist orthosis for joint rehabilitation, in 2015 IEEE Int. Conf. Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM) (IEEE, Busan, South Korea, 2015), pp. 1235–1240. Crossref, Google Scholar
16. N. Bartlett, V. Lyau, W. Raiford, D. Holland, J. Gafford, T. Ellis and C. Walsh , A soft robotic orthosis for wrist rehabilitation, in ASME Design of Medical Devices Conf. (ASME, Minneapolis, MN, USA, 2015) pp. 1–3. Google Scholar
17. J. Hope and A. Mcdaid , Development of wearable wrist and forearm exoskeleton with shape memory alloy actuators, J. Intell. Robot. Syst. 86 (2017) 397. Crossref, Google Scholar
18. T. Tsabedze, E. Hartman, C. Brennan and J. Zhang , A compliant robotic wrist orthosis driven by twisted string actuators, in 2021 Int. Symp. Medical Robotics (ISMR) (IEEE, Atlanta, GA, USA, 2021), pp. 1–7. Crossref, Google Scholar
19. T. Tsabedze, E. Hartman, E. Abrego, C. Brennan and J. Zhang , TSABRAG: A twisted string actuatorpowered biomimetic robotic assistive glove, in 2020 Int. Symp. Medical Robotics (ISMR) (IEEE, Atlanta, GA, USA, 2020), pp. 159–165. Crossref, Google Scholar
20. T. Higuma, K. Kiguchi and J. Arata , Low-profile two-degree-of-freedom wrist exoskeleton device using multiple spring blades, IEEE Robot. Autom. Lett. 3 (2018) 305–311. Crossref, Google Scholar
21. J. Dittli, C. Vasileiou, H. Asanovski, J. Lieber, J. Lin, A. Meyer-Heim, H. Van Hedel, R. Gassert and O. Lambercy , Design of a compliant, stabilizing wrist mechanism for a pediatric hand exoskeleton, in 2022 Int. Conf. Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR) (IEEE, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2022), pp. 1–6. Crossref, Google Scholar
22. G. Lee, G. Hong and Y. Choi , Tendon-driven compliant prosthetic wrist consisting of three rows based on the concept of tensegrity structure, IEEE Robot. Autom. Lett. 6 (2021) 3956–3963. Crossref, Google Scholar
23. L. Schaeffer, D. Herrmann and V. Boehm , Preliminary theoretical considerations of a hand orthosis based on a prestressed, compliant structure, in 2023 Int. Symp. Medical Robotics (ISMR) (IEEE, Atlanta, GA, USA, 2023), pp. 1–7. Crossref, Google Scholar
24. L. Schaeffer, D. Herrmann and V. Böhm , Voruntersuchung einer vorgespannten nachgiebigen Struktur für den Einsatz in dynamischen Handorthesen, in Neunte IFToMM D-A-CH Konferenz (IFToMM) (Basel, Switzerland, 2023), pp. 1–3. Google Scholar
25. V. Böhm , Mechanics of Tensegrity Structures and their Application in Mobile Robotics, Habilitation Thesis (Ilmenau University, 2016). Google Scholar
26. T. Kaufhold, F. Schale, V. Böhm and K. Zimmermann , Indoor locomotion experiments of a spherical mobile robot based on a tensegrity structure with curved compressed members, in 2017 IEEE Int. Conf. Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM) (IEEE, Munich, Germany, 2017), pp. 523–528. Crossref, Google Scholar
27. S. Sumi, V. Böhm and K. Zimmermann , A multistable tensegrity structure with a gripper application, Mech. Mach. Theory 114 (2017) 204–217. Crossref, Google Scholar
28. P. Schorr, F. Schale, J. M. Otterbach, L. Zentner, K. Zimmermann and V. Böhm , Investigation of a multistable tensegrity robot applied as tilting locomotion system, in 2020 IEEE Int. Conf. Robotics and Automation (ICRA) (IEEE, Paris, France, 2020), pp. 2932–2938. Crossref, Google Scholar
29. D. Zappetti, S. Jeong, J. Shintake and D. Floreano , Phase changing materials-based variable-stiffness tensegrity structures, Soft Robot. 7 (2020) 362–369. Crossref, Google Scholar
30. J. Zhang and M. Ohsaki , Tensegrity Structures: Form, Stability, and Symmetry (Springer, 2015). Crossref, Google Scholar
31. V. Bohm and K. Zimmermann , Vibration-driven mobile robots based on single actuated tensegrity structures, in 2013 IEEE Int. Conf. Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2013) (IEEE, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2013), pp. 5475–5480. Crossref, Google Scholar
32. V. Böhm, S. Sumi, T. Kaufhold and K. Zimmermann , Compliant multistable tensegrity structures, Mech. Mach. Theory 115 (2017) 130–148. Crossref, Google Scholar
33. D. Zappetti, S. Mintchev, J. Shintake and D. Floreano , Bio-inspired Tensegrity Soft Modular Robots (Springer, Cham, 2017). Crossref, Google Scholar
34. J. Rieffel and J. Mouret , Adaptive and resilient soft tensegrity robots, Soft Robot. 5 (2018) 318–329. Crossref, Google Scholar
35. V. Böhm, P. Schorr, F. Schale, T. Kaufhold, L. Zentner and K. Zimmermann , Worm-like mobile robot based on a tensegrity structure, in 2021 IEEE 4th Int. Conf. Soft Robotics (RoboSoft) (IEEE, New Haven, CT, USA, 2021), pp. 358–363. Crossref, Google Scholar
36. P. Heo, G. Gu, S. Lee, K. Rhee and J. Kim , Current hand exoskeleton technologies for rehabilitation and assistive engineering, Int. J. Prec. Eng. Manuf. 13 (2012) 807–824. Crossref, Google Scholar
37. D. Arias and M. Varacallo, StatPearls: Anatomy, shoulder and upper limb, hand bones (2022). Google Scholar
38. M. Schaefer and H. Siebert , Finger- und Mittelhandfrakturen. Operative und nicht operative Behandlungsverfahren, Teil I, Unfallchirurg 103 (2000) 482–494. Crossref, Google Scholar
39. Y. Youm and A. Flatt , Design of a total wrist prosthesis, Ann. Biomed. Eng. 12 (1984) 247–262. Crossref, Google Scholar
40. A. Schiele and F. Van der Helm , Kinematic design to improve ergonomics in human machine interaction, IEEE Trans. Neural Syst. Rehabil. Eng. 14 (2006) 456–469. Crossref, Google Scholar
41. R. A. R. C. Gopura and K. Kiguchi , Development of an exoskeleton robot for human wrist and forearm motion assist, in 2007 Int. Conf. Industrial and Information Systems (IEEE, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2007), pp. 535–540. Crossref, Google Scholar
42. N. Rijnveld and H. I. Krebs , Passive wrist joint impedance in flexion extension and abduction adduction, in 2007 IEEE 10th Int. Conf. Rehabilitation Robotics (IEEE, Noordwijk, Netherlands, 2007), pp. 43–47. Crossref, Google Scholar
43. S. Juan and J. Mirats Tur , Tensegrity frameworks: Static analysis review, Mech. Mach. Theory 43 (2008) 859–881. Crossref, Google Scholar
44. J. Lagarias, J. Reeds, M. Wright and P. Wright , Convergence properties of the Nelder–Mead simplex method in low dimensions, SIAM J. Optim. 9 (1998) 112–147. Crossref, Google Scholar
45. L. Zhang, Y. Li, Y. Cao and X. Feng , Stiffness matrix based Form-finding method of tensegrity structures, Eng. Struct. 58 (2014) 36–48. Crossref, Google Scholar