Concept development of a minimalistic robotic glove meeting the needs of people with cervical spinal cord injuries

Abstract: Living with a cervical spinal cord injury entails many limitations in everyday life, not least when it comes to something as simple as gripping an object. Individuals with a cervical spinal cord injury can modify or use specially adapted everyday objects to make gripping them easier. It is important to customize the objects based on the individual's abilities and limitations. Tendo is a company that has developed a soft robotic glove intended to help the user grip different objects and thereby instead reduce the needs for adapting the objects. The objective of this thesis was to redesign Tendos assistive robotic glove and develop a design concept based on the end users’ needs and wishes. This study involved conducting interviews and questionnaires to gather information on the needs and wishes from users’ as well as the challenges and limitations that need to be addressed in the development of a robotic glove. Based on the gathered information a concept for a robotic glove was defined and tested, through an iterative development process. The final concept consists of a minimalistic glove that helps the user achieve their biggest desire - greater independence. The design of the glove is tailored to activities of daily living and in doing so, helps the user become more self-reliant. Our findings highlight the importance of customization options in the design of this type of assistive device to meet the user’s needs and preferences based on their individual abilities and limitations.