TY - JOUR T1 - Relaying the High-Frequency Contents of TactileFeedback to Robotic Prosthesis Users: Design,Filtering, Implementation, and Validation JF - IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters Y1 - 2019 A1 - S. Fani A1 - K. Di Blasio A1 - M. Bianchi A1 - M. G. Catalano A1 - G. Grioli A1 - A. Bicchi VL - Volume: 4 , Issue: 2 , April 2019 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Wearable haptic interfaces for applications in gynecologic robotic surgery: a proof of concept in robotic myomectomy. JF - Journal of Robotic Surgery Y1 - 2019 A1 - A. Giannini A1 - M. Bianchi A1 - D. Doria A1 - S. Fani A1 - M. Caretto A1 - A. Bicchi A1 - T. Simoncini ER - TY - CONF T1 - Separating haptic guidance from task dynamics: A practical solution via cutaneous devices T2 - 2018 IEEE Haptics Symposium (HAPTICS) Y1 - 2018 A1 - E. Pezent A1 - S. Fani A1 - J. Bradley A1 - M. Bianchi A1 - M. K. O'Malley KW - Biomechanics KW - cutaneous forces KW - cutaneous guidance KW - Dynamics KW - Exoskeletons KW - guidance condition KW - guidance cues KW - guidance forces KW - haptic feedback KW - haptic guidance KW - haptic interfaces KW - human movement KW - kinesthetic guidance KW - rendering (computer graphics) KW - separate haptic cues KW - Skin KW - Task analysis KW - task completion strategies KW - task complexity KW - task dynamics KW - task forces KW - Training KW - Trajectory KW - Wrist JF - 2018 IEEE Haptics Symposium (HAPTICS) ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Simplifying Telerobotics: Wearability and Teleimpedance Improves Human-Robot Interactions in Teleoperation JF - IEEE Robotics Automation Magazine Y1 - 2018 A1 - S. Fani A1 - S. Ciotti A1 - M. G. Catalano A1 - G. Grioli A1 - A. Tognetti A1 - G. Valenza A1 - A. Ajoudani A1 - M. Bianchi KW - application fields KW - augmented teleoperation KW - Autonomous robots KW - communication KW - effective design KW - effective simplification KW - environmental constraints KW - feedback KW - Force feedback KW - fundamental requirement KW - haptic feedback devices KW - haptic interfaces KW - human workspace KW - human-robot interaction KW - human-robot interactions KW - human-robot interfaces KW - ideal scenario KW - integrated approach KW - integrated interface KW - integrated system KW - interaction forces KW - intuitive information exchange KW - Kinematics KW - KUKA lightweight robotic arm KW - lightweight design KW - manipulators KW - master KW - position control KW - reduced versions KW - Robot sensing systems KW - robotic devices KW - robotic hand-arm system KW - robotic manipulator KW - robotic teleoperation KW - simplified information exchange KW - slave robot KW - stiffness control KW - synergy KW - Task analysis KW - teleimpedance techniques KW - Telemedicine KW - teleoperator system KW - telerobotics KW - TI control KW - vision KW - wearability KW - wearable feedback KW - wearable hand/arm VL - 25 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - W-FYD: a Wearable Fabric-based Display for Haptic Multi-Cue Delivery and Tactile Augmented Reality JF - IEEE Transactions on Haptics Y1 - 2018 A1 - S. Fani A1 - S. Ciotti A1 - E. Battaglia A1 - A. Moscatelli A1 - M. Bianchi KW - Haptics KW - Robotics AB -

Despite the importance of softness, there is no evidence of wearable haptic systems able to deliver controllable softness cues. Here, we present the Wearable Fabric Yielding Display (W-FYD), a fabric-based display for multi-cue delivery that can be worn on user's finger and enables, for the first time, both active and passive softness exploration. It can also induce a sliding effect under the finger-pad. A given stiffness profile can be obtained by modulating the stretching state of the fabric through two motors. Furthermore, a lifting mechanism allows to put the fabric in contact with the user's finger-pad, to enable passive softness rendering. In this paper, we describe the architecture of W-FYD, and a thorough characterization of its stiffness workspace, frequency response and softness rendering capabilities. We also computed device Just Noticeable Difference in both active and passive exploratory conditions, for linear and non-linear stiffness rendering as well as for sliding direction perception. The effect of device weight was also considered. Furthermore, performance of participants and their subjective quantitative evaluation in detecting sliding direction and softness discrimination tasks are reported. Finally, applications of W-FYD in tactile augmented reality for open palpation are discussed, opening interesting perspectives in many fields of human-machine interaction.

VL - 11 UR - http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8003491/ IS - 2 ER - TY - CONF T1 - From humans to robots: The role of cutaneous impairment in human environmental constraint exploitation to inform the design of robotic hands T2 - Ultra Modern Telecommunications and Control Systems and Workshops (ICUMT), 2017 9th International Congress on Y1 - 2017 A1 - G. Averta A1 - C. Della Santina A1 - E. Battaglia A1 - S. Ciotti A1 - V. Arapi A1 - S. Fani A1 - M. Bianchi AB -

Human hands are capable of a variety of movements, thanks to their extraordinary biomechanical structure and rely- ing on the richness of human tactile information. Recently, soft robotic hands have opened exciting possibilities and, at the same time, new issues related to planning and control. In this work, we propose to study human strategies in environmental constraint exploitation to grasp objects from a table. We have considered both the case where participants’ fingertips were free and with a rigid shell worn on them to understand the role of cutaneous touch. Main kinematic strategies were quantified and classified in an unsupervised manner. The principal strategies appear to be consistent in both experimental conditions, although cluster cardinality differs. Furthermore, as expected, tactile feedback improves both grasp precision and quality performance. Results opens interesting perspective for sensing and control of soft manipulators.

JF - Ultra Modern Telecommunications and Control Systems and Workshops (ICUMT), 2017 9th International Congress on PB - IEEE CY - Munich N1 -

This work has been awarded with the "Best Student Paper Award" and the "Best Paper in Session - Robotics"

ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Postural Hand Synergies during Environmental Constraint Exploitation JF - Fronters in Neurorobotics Y1 - 2017 A1 - C. Della Santina A1 - M. Bianchi A1 - G. Averta A1 - S. Ciotti A1 - V. Arapi A1 - S. Fani A1 - E. Battaglia A1 - M. G. Catalano A1 - M. Santello A1 - A. Bicchi KW - Haptics KW - Robotics AB -

Humans are able to intuitively exploit the shape of an object and environmental constraints to achieve stable grasps and perform dexterous manipulations. In doing that, a vast range of kinematic strategies can be observed. However, in this work we formulate the hypothesis that such ability can be described in terms of a synergistic behavior in the generation of hand postures, i.e., using a reduced set of commonly used kinematic patterns. This is in analogy with previous studies showing the presence of such behavior in different tasks, such as grasping. We investigated this hypothesis in experiments performed by six subjects, who were asked to grasp objects from a flat surface. We quantitatively characterized hand posture behavior from a kinematic perspective, i.e., the hand joint angles, in both pre-shaping and during the interaction with the environment. To determine the role of tactile feedback, we repeated the same experiments but with subjects wearing a rigid shell on the fingertips to reduce cutaneous afferent inputs. Results show the persistence of at least two postural synergies in all the considered experimental conditions and phases. Tactile impairment does not alter significantly the first two synergies, and contact with the environment generates a change only for higher order Principal Components. A good match also arises between the first synergy found in our analysis and the first synergy of grasping as quantified by previous work. The present study is motivated by the interest of learning from the human example, extracting lessons that can be applied in robot design and control. Thus, we conclude with a discussion on implications for robotics of our findings.

UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbot.2017.00041/full ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Assessment of Myoelectric Controller Performance and Kinematic Behavior of a Novel Soft Synergy-inspired Robotic Hand for Prosthetic Applications JF - Frontiers in Neurorobotics Y1 - 2016 A1 - S. Fani A1 - M. Bianchi A1 - S. Jain A1 - J. Pimenta Neto A1 - S. Boege A1 - G. Grioli A1 - A. Bicchi A1 - M. Santello KW - Haptics KW - Robotics AB -

Myoelectric-artificial limbs can significantly advance the state of the art in prosthetics, since they can be used to control mechatronic devices through muscular activity in a way that mimics how the subjects used to activate their muscles before limb loss. However, surveys indicate that dissatisfaction with the functionality of terminal devices underlies the widespread abandonment of prostheses. We believe that one key factor to improve acceptability of prosthetic devices is to attain human-likeness of prosthesis movements, a goal which is being pursued by research on social and human-robot interactions. Therefore, to reduce early abandonment of terminal devices, we propose that controllers should be designed such as to ensure effective task accomplishment in a natural fashion. In this work, we have analyzed and compared the performance of three types of myoelectric controller algorithms based on surface electromyography to control an under-actuated and multi-degrees of freedom prosthetic hand, the SoftHand Pro. The goal of the present study was to identify the myoelectric algorithm that best mimics the native hand movements. As a preliminary step, we first quantified the repeatability of the SoftHand Pro finger movements and identified the electromyographic recording sites for able-bodied individuals with the highest signal-to-noise ratio from two pairs of muscles, i.e. flexor digitorum superficialis/extensor digitorum communis, and flexor carpi radialis/extensor carpi ulnaris. Able-bodied volunteers were then asked to execute reach-to-grasp movements, while electromyography signals were recorded from flexor digitorum superficialis/extensor digitorum communis as this was identified as the muscle pair characterized by high signal-to-noise ratio and intuitive control. Subsequently, we tested three myoelectric controllers that mapped electromyography signals to position of the SoftHand Pro. We found that a differential electromyography-to-position mapping ensured the highest coherence with hand movements. Our results represent a first step towards a more effective and intuitive control of myoelectric hand prostheses.

VL - 10 UR - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5066092/ IS - 11 ER - TY - CONF T1 - A change in the fingertip contact area induces an illusory displacement of the finger T2 - Eurohaptics Y1 - 2014 A1 - A. Moscatelli A1 - M. Bianchi A1 - A. Serio A1 - Al Atassi, O. A1 - S. Fani A1 - A. Terekhov A1 - V. Hayward A1 - M. Ernst A1 - A. Bicchi KW - Haptics KW - Robotics JF - Eurohaptics PB - Springer-Verlag CY - Versailles, France), June 2014 VL - LNCS - Free Preview Haptics: Neuroscience, Devices, Modeling, and Applications ER -