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Augmented Grasps: Supernumerary Robotic Fingers and Their Practical Uses

  • Conference paper
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IX Latin American Congress on Biomedical Engineering and XXVIII Brazilian Congress on Biomedical Engineering (CLAIB 2022, CBEB 2022)

Part of the book series: IFMBE Proceedings ((IFMBE,volume 100))

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Abstract

Research on supernumerary robotic fingers has grown in recent years, both for augmentation and assistance purposes. Unlike other wearable robotics, these devices do not replace a missing finger or assist finger movement, but provide an additional one to extend the workspace and enhance grasp capabilities in healthy patients. In addition, patients with physical disabilities can use them as assistive devices for basic grasping in activities of daily living. While research in this field moves forward consistently, a classification of the grasps performed with extra fingers has not yet been proposed. In the literature, we find a number of papers that focus on improving finger control but do not present which grips are similar to a natural five finger grasp. In this paper, a brief classification of supernumerary grasps will be made based on the most common ones developed in the literature. In addition, the usefulness of these additional robotic fingers will be described in order to encourage more researchers to opt for the development and improvement of these devices.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the support of the Engineering Department of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and, particularly, the Biomedical Engineering Section.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Biomechanics and Applied Robotics, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Lima, Peru

    Alyssa N. Maguina, Renato Mio & Renato Mio

  2. Biomedical Engineering Program PUCP-UPCH, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru

    Alyssa N. Maguina

Authors
  1. Alyssa N. Maguina
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  2. Renato Mio
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Renato Mio .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil

    Jefferson Luiz Brum Marques

  2. Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil

    Cesar Ramos Rodrigues

  3. Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil

    Daniela Ota Hisayasu Suzuki

  4. Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil

    José Marino Neto

  5. Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil

    Renato García Ojeda

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Maguina, A.N., Mio, R. (2024). Augmented Grasps: Supernumerary Robotic Fingers and Their Practical Uses. In: Marques, J.L.B., Rodrigues, C.R., Suzuki, D.O.H., Marino Neto, J., García Ojeda, R. (eds) IX Latin American Congress on Biomedical Engineering and XXVIII Brazilian Congress on Biomedical Engineering. CLAIB CBEB 2022 2022. IFMBE Proceedings, vol 100. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49407-9_52

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49407-9_52

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-49406-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-49407-9

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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