Paper Accepted at MIPRO Robotics 2026
Our paper “Bridging Rehabilitation Requirements and Soft Robotics: Concept and Design of a Pneumatic Assistive Device” has been accepted for presentation at MIPRO Robotics 2026.
The paper presents our preliminary research toward the development of a soft pneumatic assistive device for hand rehabilitation. The work focuses on translating rehabilitation-oriented requirements—such as safety, comfort, functional finger assistance, manufacturability, and reliability—into practical engineering design decisions.
Several actuator and fabrication concepts were investigated, including a rigid tendon-driven baseline, molded elastomer actuators, reinforced pneumatic actuators, 3D-printed TPU structures, and initial vat-photopolymerized soft actuators. The study also summarizes recurring practical challenges such as air leakage, rupture, connector degradation, and material limitations, which are important considerations when moving soft robotic devices from concepts toward reliable wearable systems.
The mechanical development is supported by hand kinematic analysis and FEM/PRB-based modeling, while future work will extend the platform toward adaptive assistance using sEMG-based intent estimation and Koopman-based data-driven modeling and control.
This work represents an early stage of our research within the HRZZ project ASoRo – Advanced Soft Robots: Data-Driven Development, Modeling and Control, and provides a foundation for subsequent actuator characterization, fabrication improvements, sensing integration, and closed-loop rehabilitation experiments.
The paper will be presented at MIPRO Robotics 2026 in Zadar, Croatia.
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