• EMG
• controllo mioelettrico
• algoritmi mappatura EMG
• protesi

In this thesis, we report some experimental results on the characterization of the SoftHand Pro, a prosthetic Electro-Myography (EMG) - controlled version of the Pisa/IIT SoftHand (SH). The SH is an anthropomorphic robotic hand endowed with 19 degrees of freedom but actuated with only one motor. The design of the SH leverages upon the synergistic concept, i.e. the fact that the control of the human hand motion occurs in a low dimensional space due to natural constraints, soft robotics and adaptability, which make it an ideal platform for prosthetic and assistive applications. The objective of this work are: (i) to assess the consistency and repeatability of the SH movements in grasping task, to verify its suitability as extra-thesis, i.e. a novel concept of wearable devices that increase upper limb functionality in patients where no more functional motor improvements seem to be achievable. Furthermore therapeutic effects of the use of extra limbs for neuro-rehabilitation of post-stroke patients are also envisioned; (ii) to identify which are the muscles that provide the best performance in reach-to-grasp actions; (iii) to evaluate the best controller that enables to achieve human-like movements in this type of tasks. Results show a good consistency in hand movements (i), while the distal muscles for the extension and flexion of the fingers and a differential EMG to position mapping provide the best results (ii), (iii) in terms of human-likeness.