Their flexible exoskeleton prototype uses artificial intelligence to help people suffering from the aftereffects of a stroke to regain manual dexterity. It has been designed using 3D-printed polyvinyl acid stents and a hydrogel moulding, to conform as closely as possible to the user’s hand.
Indeed, devices already exist for patients who have partially lost the use of their hands after a stroke. But their rigidity doesn’t really allow them to target fine dexterity, an essential element in playing a musical instrument such as a piano.
With this in mind, scientists at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) have integrated special sensor arrays into the fingertip of each of their intelligent gloves, so they can precisely guide the pianist who wears them.
They monitor and react to the slightest movement of the fingers in real time, enabling the pianist to “feel” their mistakes and thus correct them.
“Our robotic glove is composed of soft, flexible materials and sensors that provide gentle support and assistance to individuals to relearn and regain their motor abilities,” said Erik Engeberg, senior author and a professor in FAU’s Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering.
‘Game-changer’
The research team tested the capabilities of this pair of gloves in a pilot study, described in detail in the journal “Frontiers in Robotics and AI”.
To do this, they programmed the exoskeleton to play “Mary Had a Little Lamb” on the piano, without anyone having to wear it. The scientists introduced several types of error throughout the piece, so as to assess the machine’s ability to detect and rectify them.
The experiment was then repeated with a pianist. This highlighted the effectiveness of the gloves, which helped the pianist improve their natural hand movements, and above all, to better control the flexion and extension of their fingers when playing the nursery rhyme on the piano.
“The technology is truly a game-changer for individuals with neuromuscular disorders and reduced limb functionality,” said Stella Batalama, dean of FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science.
“Although other soft robotic actuators have been used to play the piano, our robotic glove is the only one that has demonstrated the capability to ‘feel’ the difference between correct and incorrect versions of the same song.”
Recovering motor skills is often a long-term challenge for people suffering from the effects of a stroke or other conditions that impair manual dexterity. Case in point: focal dystonia, a disease that causes involuntary muscle spasms, and several accidents forced Brazilian pianist João Carlos Martins to stop playing the piano in 2019.
But bionic gloves, developed by a company called Ubirata Costa, enabled him to tinkle the ivories once more, and even to give a concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall on the 60th anniversary of his first performance.