@article {4079,
	title = {Exploring Stiffness Modulation in Prosthetic Hands and Its Perceived Function in Manipulation and Social Interaction.},
	journal = {Frontiers in Neurorobotics},
	volume = {14},
	year = {2020},
	month = {06/2020},
	abstract = {<p>To physically interact with a rich variety of environments and to match situation-dependent requirements, humans adapt both the force and stiffness of their limbs. Reflecting this behavior in prostheses may promote a more natural and intuitive control and, consequently, improve prostheses acceptance in everyday life. This pilot study proposes a method to control a prosthetic robot hand and its impedance, and explores the utility of variable stiffness when performing activities of daily living and physical social interactions. The proposed method is capable of a simultaneous and proportional decoding of position and stiffness intentions from two surface electro-myographic sensors placed over a pair of antagonistic muscles. The feasibility of our approach is validated and compared to existing control modalities in a preliminary study involving one prosthesis user. The algorithm is implemented in a soft under-actuated prosthetic hand (SoftHand Pro). Then, we evaluate the usability of the proposed approach while executing a variety of tasks. Among these tasks, the user interacts with other 12 able-bodied subjects, whose experiences were also assessed. Several statistically significant aspects from the System Usability Scale indicate user{\textquoteright}s preference of variable stiffness control over low or high constant stiffness due to its reactivity and adaptability. Feedback reported by able-bodied subjects reveal a general tendency to favor soft interaction, i.e., low stiffness, which is perceived more human-like and comfortable. These combined results suggest the use of variable stiffness as a viable compromise between firm control and safe interaction which is worth investigating further.</p>
},
	keywords = {human-robot social interaction, impedance control, prosthetics, Soft robotics, task adaptability},
	doi = {10.3389/fnbot.2020.00033},
	url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbot.2020.00033/full?\&utm_source=Email_to_authors_\&utm_medium=Email\&utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author\&utm_campaign=Email_publication\&field=\&journalName=Frontiers_in_Neurorobotics\&id=503842},
	author = {Capsi-Morales, Patricia and C. Piazza and M. G. Catalano and A. Bicchi and G. Grioli}
}
@article {4081,
	title = {Exploring the Role of Palm Concavity and Adaptability in Soft Synergistic Robotic Hands},
	journal = { IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters },
	volume = {5},
	year = {2020},
	month = {17 June 2020},
	pages = {4703 - 4710},
	chapter = {4703},
	abstract = {<p>Robotic hand engineers usually focus on finger capabilities, often disregarding the palm contribution. Inspired by human anatomy, this paper explores the advantages of including a flexible concave palm into the design of a robotic hand actuated by soft synergies. We analyse how the inclusion of an articulated palm improves finger workspace and manipulability. We propose a mechanical design of a modular palm with two elastic rolling-contact palmar joints, that can be integrated on the Pisa/IIT SoftHand, without introducing additional motors. With this prototype, we evaluate experimentally the grasping capabilities of a robotic palm. We compare its performance to that of the same robotic hand with the palm fixed, and to that of a human hand. To assess the effective grasp quality achieved by the three systems, we measure the contact area using paint-transfer patterns in different grasping actions. Preliminary grasping experiments show a closer resemblance of the soft-palm robotic hand to the human hand. Results evidence a higher adaptive capability and a larger involvement of all fingers in grasping.</p>
},
	keywords = {Ellipsoids, Grasping, Indexes, Kinematics, Robots, Shape, Thumb},
	issn = { 2377-3766},
	doi = {10.1109/LRA.2020.3003257},
	url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9119822?source=authoralert},
	author = {Capsi-Morales, Patricia and G. Grioli and C. Piazza and A. Bicchi and M. G. Catalano}
}
