Wearable robots, such as exoskeletons and assistive gloves, must operate in close physical interaction with the human body, where safety, comfort, adaptability, and biomechanical compatibility are critical requirements. Simulation plays a central role in the design, analysis, and optimization of wearable robotic devices, enabling a systematic and human-centered development process. Simulation frameworks provide essential tools to model the complex coupling between human biomechanics, device mechanics, actuation systems, and control strategies. By integrating musculoskeletal models, multibody dynamics, and compliant actuation representations, simulation allows designers to evaluate device performance across a wide range of users, tasks, and operating conditions before physical prototyping. This approach supports the exploration of design trade-offs, such as assistance effectiveness versus user comfort, or actuator placement versus wearability. Furthermore, simulation enables the assessment of interaction forces, joint loading, and energy exchange, contributing to safer and more ergonomic solutions. In wearable robotics research inspired by human-in-the-loop principles, simulation is also important in developing and validating control strategies, including assist-as-needed paradigms and adaptive controllers that respond to user intent and variability.

Underactuated tendon-driven fingers are a simple, yet effective solution, for realizing robotic grippers and hands. The lack of controllable degrees of actuation and precise sensing is compensated by the deformable structure of the finger, which is able to adapt to the objects to be grasped and manipulated, and also to implement grasping strategies based on environmental constraint exploitation. One of the main drawbacks of these robotic fingers is that, due to the limited number of actuators, they can only realize a limited number of movements. Finger closure motion realized by activating the tendon depends on finger mechanical properties, and in particular on elastic joint stiffness. In this paper, we introduce a passive elastic joint to be implemented in monolithic fingers in which the stiffness can be actively regulated by applying a pre-compression to the structure, controlled by a twisted-string actuator (TSA). The paper describes the working principle of the joint, investigates the relationship between pre-compression and flexural stiffness, and finally shows its application to a robotic finger composed of three phalanges.

In this paper, we present a methodology to design soft-rigid grippers able to perform different manipulation tasks. The main idea is the introduction of wave-shaped hinges whose geometrical parameters can be designed to achieve different three-dimensional impedance characteristics. This allows one to use the same tendon-driven actuation to perform different tasks including grasping objects with different shapes and in-hand manipulation of small objects. We report all design procedures and an experimental evaluation of two different prototypes exploiting two possible tasks, the first one is designed to grasp objects adapting to different shapes and dimensions, the second one performs an in-hand manipulation task consisting in object rotation with respect to an axis perpendicular to hand palm, resembling a “screw” movement. Obtained results confirm the feasibility and potentialities of the proposed methodology, that can be applied to obtain 3D printed monolithic fingers able to move in predefined directions when activated through a tendon-driven system, paving the way toward a new task-specific realization of compliant grippers.

Nowadays, especially with the Covid-19 pandemic, researchers are focusing their attention on the remote delivery of devices designed for rehabilitation purposes, allowing people to recover without the physical presence of a doctor. Manual therapy is a physical treatment that is used by therapists for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain and/or disabilities. The aim of this work is to present HAPP, a new haptic portable device, designed to help patients suffering of different patholohgies, as for instance the Complex Regional Pain Syndrome type-I disease, and more in general to investigate the effects of manual therapy for diseases of the carpus and metacarpus, by mimicking traditional mechanical and rhythmic stimuli characteristics of manual treatments. Its structure consists of a plate oriented by revolute-prismatic-spherical joints, with a rack-pinion mechanism that actuates the end-effector, stimulating the user’s hand palm. We provide details about the device, such as the mechanical design, the mathematical model and a graphical user interface. Preliminary studies in order to evaluate the device force exerted at the user’s palm were carried out.

Robotic devices for rehabilitation and training is a promising and challenging research topic with a potentially huge social impact. The availability of tools for autonomously performing physiotherapy exercises increases their efficiency, provides supplementary information about results and progress, reduces physiotherapists’ efforts and the need of their physical presence during exercise sessions, and encourages autonomy and independence in people with disabilities. Nevertheless, supportive technologies developed without the inputs and feedback of the end-user throughout the design process are less likely to be adopted for their intended purpose and use case. In this article, we propose a modular hand/wrist exoskeleton that actuates the wrist flexion/extension and adduction/abduction motions and hand fingers flexion/extension motions. It is designed to be wearable and easy to control and manage and can be used by the patient in collaboration with the physiotherapist or autonomously. A user-centered design perspective has been employed in all the design and development phases. This article introduces the main features of the device and presents some tests conducted with a user having limited hand and wrist mobility.

Robot rehabilitation is an emerging and promising topic that incorporates robotics with neuroscience and rehabilitation to define new methods for supporting patients with neurological diseases. As a consequence, the rehabilitation process could increase the efficacy exploiting the potentialities of robot-mediated therapies. Nevertheless, nowadays clinical effectiveness is not enough to widely introduce robotic technologies in such social contexts. In this paper we propose a step further, presenting an innovative exoskeleton for wrist flexion/extension and adduction/abduction motion training. It is designed to be wearable and easy to control and manage. It can be used by the patient in collaboration with the therapist or autonomously. The paper introduces the main steps of device design and development and presents some tests conducted with an user with limited wrist mobility.