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Design and characterization of the OpenWrist: A robotic wrist exoskeleton for

coordinated hand-wrist rehabilitation

Conference Paper in IEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics : [proceedings] · July 2017
DOI: 10.1109/ICORR.2017.8009333

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2017 International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR)
QEII Centre, London, UK, July 17-20, 2017.

Design and Characterization of the OpenWrist: A Robotic Wrist Exoskeleton

for Coordinated Hand-Wrist Rehabilitation
Evan Pezent† , Chad G. Rose† , Ashish D. Deshpande‡ , and Marcia K. O’Malley†

Abstract— Robotic devices have been clinically verified for

use in long duration and high intensity rehabilitation needed for
motor recovery after neurological injury. Targeted and coordi-
nated hand and wrist therapy, often overlooked in rehabilitation
robotics, is required to regain the ability to perform activities of
daily living. To this end, a new coupled hand-wrist exoskeleton
has been designed. This paper details the design of the wrist
module and several human-related considerations made to max-
imize its potential as a coordinated hand-wrist device. The serial
wrist mechanism has been engineered to facilitate donning
and doffing for impaired subjects and to insure compatibility
with the hand module in virtual and assisted grasping tasks.
Several other practical requirements have also been addressed,
including device ergonomics, clinician-friendliness, and am-
bidextrous reconfigurability. The wrist module’s capabilities as
a rehabilitation device are quantified experimentally in terms
of functional workspace and dynamic properties. Specifically,
the device possesses favorable performance in terms of range Fig. 1. MAHI OpenWrist exoskeleton module shown with the ReNeu Mae-
stro hand exoskeleton module in the combined READAPT configuration.
of motion, torque output, friction, and closed-loop position
bandwidth when compared with existing devices. The presented hand and wrist movements required in ADL as suggested
wrist module’s performance and operational considerations
support its use in a wide range of future clinical investigations.
by the interconnected nature of hand-wrist musculature [17].
However, the requirements for designing coordinated hand-
I. INTRODUCTION wrist exoskeletons remains relatively unknown due the sparse
Robot-augmented therapy is a clinically verified path landscape of such devices.
forward to improving rehabilitation outcomes for several
A. Identified Design Requirements
neuromuscular conditions, such as cerebrovascular accidents
(CVA or stroke) and spinal cord injuries [1]. CVAs alone A preliminary implementation of the READAPT, which
impact approximately 795,000 individuals each year, and the utilized the existing RiceWrist-S exoskeleton [7], identified
related costs are projected to rise above the 2012 estimate of finger metacarpalphalangeal (MCP) flexion/extension range
$316.6 billion as mortality rates continue to decline [2]. of motion (ROM) limits (subsequently addressed in [18]),
Robotic rehabilitative devices enable the high intensity, wrist static friction and inertia, and undesired interactions
long duration interventions needed for regaining motor func- between the hand and wrist modules as key contributors to
tion, and quantitative metrics for tracking therapeutic out- hand-wrist discoordination in redundant MCP and wrist flex-
comes [3]. Regaining the ability to perform activities of daily ion/extension pointing tasks [17]. Additionally, pre-clinical
living (ADL) requires targeted rehabilitation of the upper trials with the RiceWrist-S in a standalone mode [7], as
extremity, in particular, the wrist and hand. Several devices well as experience and clinician feedback from other clinical
have been designed for this purpose, [4]–[11], but few allow studies [19], highlighted the necessity of the user’s ability to
for coordinated hand and wrist movement [12]. This sepa- easily don/doff devices. This is especially true during studies
rated approach overlooks the kinematic and dynamic linkings with fragile skinned subjects where donning/doffing closed-
of the hand and wrist which arise from anatomy [13], as well design exoskeletons (e.g. [7], [10], [19]) is not only difficult
as their position-dependent passive properties [14]–[16]. The and time consuming, but also potentially hazardous. In order
READAPT, the coupling of a wrist exoskeleton developed in of importance, future hand-wrist exoskeletons, including
the MAHI Lab and the Maestro hand exoskeleton developed the READAPT, would need to (1) provide a harmonious
in the ReNeu Lab, was proposed to enable the coordinated interface between the the hand and wrist modules, (2) enable
don/doff of impaired individuals with an easily accessed open
This work was supported by a training fellowship from the Gulf design, (3) address ergonomics and user comfort, and (4)
Coast Consortia, on the IGERT: Neuroengineering from Cells to Sys-
tems, National Science Foundation (NSF) 1250104, NSF grants NSF-CPS- minimize the discoordinating effects of friction and inertia.
1135949/1135916, and NSTRF-NNX13AM70H. Further increasing dynamic performance over previous de-
† Mechatronics and Haptic Interfaces Laboratory, Dept of Mechanical
vices, and enabling compatibility with surface electromyog-
Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005.
‡ ReNeu Robotics Lab, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of raphy (sEMG) and passive marker motion capture were also
Texas, Austin, TX 78712. included as design requirements specific to the READAPT.

978-1-5386-2295-7/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE 720

 These goals are met by the new wrist module of the
READAPT exoskeleton, the OpenWrist, shown in Fig. 1 with
the Maestro hand exoskeleton and Fig. 2 in a standalone
configuration. Section II presents the design and character-
izes the OpenWrist’s functional work space defined by range
of motion and torque output. Many practical considerations
are discussed in Section II-D, as well as the ergonomic
considerations required for stand-alone wrist movements in
Section II-E. Section III presents the characterization of
the module’s dynamic properties and compares them with
those of the preliminary implementation. Finally, Section IV
provides context for the results before concluding.

II. DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION

The OpenWrist is the evolution of the RiceWrist-S, previ- Fig. 2. OpenWrist– 3 DOF forearm and wrist exoskeleton for pathology
agnostic rehabilitation in a standalone configuration. PS (red), FE (green),
ously presented in [7], with major refinements to each degree and RU (blue) links are highlighted to match their respective axes.
of freedom (DOF) to increase performance, functionality,
and most importantly compatibility with the Maestro hand hub rotate was made so that it could simultaneously serve
exoskeleton. Like its predecessor, it employs a serial RRR as a capstan arc in the transmission system. Unlike the
mechanism for manipulation of the user’s wrist and fore- RiceWrist-S, which used a direct drive motor, the PS joint in
arm. The first rotational joint actuates pronation/supination the OpenWrist employs a capstan-cable transmission. As a
(PS) of the forearm, while the second and third actuate result, the new device more than doubles torque output from
flexion/extension (FE) and radial/ulnar deviation (RU) of the 1.69 Nm to 3.50 Nm.
wrist, respectively. A fourth passive linear degree of freedom
between the third joint and the point of human interface B. Joint 2: Flexion/Extension
(i.e. the Maestro hand exoskeleton or the optional hand grip With the addition of the relatively heavy rails and hub,
discussed in Section II-E) allows for small misalignments significant changes to distal joints were necessary to offset
between the user’s and robot’s joints. Each actuated DOF the added inertia to the PS joint. First, the distance from
is powered by a brushed DC motor. To ensure backlash free the PS joint to the center of the FE axis was shortened.
operation, power is transmitted through capstan-cable drives, This change not only removed unnecessary material and
which involves winding a high tensile strength cable around weight, but also allowed for the elimination of the idler
a small diameter threaded spool and terminating the cable on pulley mechanism present in the RiceWrist-S. It is worth
the ends of a larger diameter capstan arc. The novel features noting that the FE actuator was also relocated from the dorsal
of each individual DOF and the entire unit are detailed in the side of the hand to the palmar side as shown in Fig. 3-c.
subsections that follow, and device capabilities are provided Second, the RU actuator was moved approximately 2 inches
in Table I. closer to the PS axis by creating a gap in the FE capstan and
shaft for the motor (Fig. 3-d).
A. Joint 1: Pronation/Supination
The PS joint has been designed to address a major concern C. Joint 3: Radial/Ulnar Deviation
for robotic exoskeletons: donning and doffing. All MAHI Due to the placement of the RU actuator, the point
Lab designs thus far have required that the user insert of contact between the actuator shaft and capstan arc re-
their hand through an ring encompassing the PS joint. This quires relocation so that an appropriate range of motion is
task, trivial for non-impaired users, proves challenging for achievable. Previously, the RiceWrist-S accomplished this
impaired subjects with reduced motor control and spasticity. via a method described in [20] which involved spanning
Furthermore, a closed design requires that the Maestro be and tensioning cable between a threaded motor shaft and
awkwardly donned after the user has inserted their arm a second threaded aluminum shaft. Issues with robustness
into the wrist exoskeleton. Eliminating this shortcoming was and maintaining cable tension led to a modification which
accomplished by switching from a traditional closed radial introduced two idler pulleys as a means to relocate the
bearing to an open curvilinear rail and slider solution (Fig. point of contact, as seen in Fig. 3. Further improvements
3-a). Four 60◦ , 100mm radius rail sections are mounted to to this idler pulley method were made with the OpenWrist.
a central hub (Fig. 4-a) to provide 240◦ of rail space. To To reduce overall form-factor, three smaller pulleys were
support expected moment loads, two slider mechanisms are substituted for the two large pulleys. In addition, the threaded
used, each mounted to a fixed frame and elbow support spool was doubly supported to prevent deflection in the spool
section, visible in Fig. 2. Thus, it is the rails and hub as the cable is tensioned, thus reducing binding and friction.
that move instead of the sliders themselves. The spacing To maximize compatibility with the Maestro hand ex-
of the sliders is such that approximately 170◦ of motion oskeleton, two additional key changes were made. First, the
is achievable in the PS joint. The decision to have the rail overhanging bridge coupling the RU DOF to the hand, which

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Fig. 3. RiceWrist-S (left) and OpenWrist (right) – (a) PS joint now open, (b) padded elbow support introduced, (c) FE actuator moved to palmar side,
(d) RU actuator moved closer to PS axis, (e) RU bridge eliminated to minimize interference with Maestro, (f) RU module moved to dorsal side.
TABLE I
D EVICE C APABILITIES C OMPARED WITH R EQUIREMENTS FOR ADL AND OTHER W RIST D EVICES
(MIT-M ANUS [9], IIT W RIST ROBOT [11], W RIST G IMBAL [10], MAHI E XO -II [8], AND R ICE W RIST-S [7])

Range of Motion [deg] Max Continuous Torque [Nm]

Joint ADL MIT IIT WG ME-II RW-S OpenWrist ADL MIT IIT WG ME-II RW-S OpenWrist
PS 150 140 160 180 180 180 170 (85 P, 85 S) 0.06 1.85 2.77 2.87 2.75 1.69 3.50
FE 115 120 144 180 65 130 135 (70 F, 65 E) 0.35 1.43 1.53 1.77 1.45 3.37 3.60
RU 70 75 72 60 63 75 75 (35 R, 40 U) 0.35 1.43 1.63 1.77 1.45 2.11 2.30

would have made interfacing with the Maestro impossible, the RU module moved to the right side of the FE module.
was eliminated (Fig. 3-e). Second, the RU capstan and Note that because the PS and RU modules’ cable windings
transmission was relocated from the palmar side of the hand are self-contained, only the FE joint would require rewinding
to the dorsal side (Fig. 3-f) so it would not interfere with the in the event of a configuration change.
hand exoskeleton when grasping motions occur. Other improvements include: an upgrade from 6061-T6
to 7075-T6 aluminum alloys, allowing for reductions in
D. Practical Considerations
thickness in multiple areas; the use of hybrid-ceramic ball
Several features have been introduced to make the device bearings with Si3 N4 balls in the FE and RU joints, offering
more functional for users, clinicians, and researchers alike. decreased friction and requiring no lubrication; and routing
Addressing ergonomic downfalls of previous devices is a of electrical wires through joint axes to eliminate wire
foam padded elbow support (Fig. 3-b) which can be adjusted draping and drag (Fig. 4-d). Of particular interest is the
laterally and vertically and fitted with small and large sized application of a white polymer-ceramic coating. The coating
cuffs. The support preserves the integral assumption of provides a very low signature in infrared, making passive
exoskeletons by reducing user movement with respect to marker motion capture studies feasible, and has a high
the exoskeleton, and avoids an oversight present in previous dielectric strength for compatibility with sEMG.
devices whereby subjects with fragile skin would come into
contact with bare metal surfaces, pinch points, and fasteners.
Each joint integrates an in-line cable tensioning mecha-
nism like the one shown in Fig. 4-b. With clinicians in mind,
all joints can be quickly re-wrapped and tensioned when
provided with a 1/4” wrench and pre-made cable sections. It
is worth noting that the choice of cable was also upgraded
to pre-stretched, flexible 7x19 strand core stainless steel
which further reduces friction and prevents loosening with
continued use.
Since ROM in the FE joint is asymmetrical, the ability to
change between left-handed and right-handed configurations
was implemented. Referencing Fig. 4-c, the RU module
(left) would be detached from the FE module (right), itself
detached from the PS module (center). Next, the FE actuator Fig. 4. OpenWrist Features – (a) central hub with curvilinear rails,
would be relocated to the left side of the PS module, the FE (b) integrated quick connect tensioner, (c) modular assembly allows for
module flipped 180◦ and reattached to the PS module, and ambidextrous configurations, (d) electrical wire routing through joint axes.

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 TABLE II
ACTUATOR AND S ENSOR D ETAILS

Joint Actuator (PN) Transmission Sensor (Joint Resolution)

PS RE-40 (148877) 1:18.7 HEDL-5540 (0.0096◦ )
FE RE-40 (148877) 1:19.2 HEDL-5540 (0.0094◦ )
RU RE-30 (310009) 1:25.6 HEDL-5540 (0.0070◦ )

III. CHARACTERIZATION
In this section, we present the experimental characteriza-
tion of the OpenWrist including position bandwidth, static
and kinetic friction, viscous damping coefficients, and iner-
tial elements. Each of the experiments discussed was per-
Fig. 5. ROM in the RU joint as a function of FE joint angle for the multiple formed on all three joints. To isolate nonrigid body effects,
grip styles evaluated. Shaded regions place emphasis on the workspace of gravitational disturbances were eliminated by orienting the
the vertical grip and the final 30◦ angled grip that was chosen. device such that the axis of the joint in question was parallel
with the direction of gravity. The remaining two joints were
E. Hand Grip
locked with a high proportional gain PD controller, and the
Although users are primarily intended to interface the passive DOF on the grip was secured. For consistency, the
OpenWrist via the Maestro hand exoskeleton, a hand grip specific characterization experiments conducted match those
was developed should wrist-only studies be conducted. Vir- used for our group’s other devices [7], [8] with the exception
tually all wrist exoskeletons, including those developed by of the bandwidth test which previously utilized a chirp signal
our group, feature a grip that is vertically oriented when input.
the exoskeleton is in its neutral position. An overlooked
flaw with this style of grip is that it puts the wrist in A. Inertia, Viscous Damping, and Kinetic Friction
an orientation that is already significantly radially deviated. The dynamic properties of the device were investigated by
Thus, the neutral orientations of the robot and user do not adopting the model and logarithmic decrement techniques
coincide. To address this, multiple grip angles (obtained by described in [21]. By examining the step response of the
measuring the neutral grip angle of several individuals) were underdamped system, the inertial, viscous, and dry friction
evaluated during the design phase by rastering the FE-RU contributions to exponential decay can be isolated.
workspace to within the user’s comfort threshold. Fig. 5 Since the physical system displays effectively zero stiff-
maps the achievable ROM in the RU joint workspace as ness, a proportional controller was implemented with the
FE is varied in 5◦ increments for four grips tested. Note the
significant increase in the upper workspace limits from the
vertical grip to the angled grips. However, simply introducing
an angle, as with the 25◦ and 35◦ grips, also resulted in
misalignment of joint axes and collision with the exoskeleton
before reaching the lower workspace limits. The final grip
(depicted in Fig. 2), has an altered geometry at its attachment
point to regain this lost lower workspace, and is angled at
30◦ based on user feedback. Compared with the traditional
vertical grip, the new angled grip offers an increase of
approximately 51% in FE-RU workspace area.
F. Mechatronics and Controls Fig. 6. One of three step response cycles about 0◦ for the PS joint.

All actuators are Maxon RE-series DC motors, each fitted

with a Broadcom/Avago HEDL-5540 A11 optical encoder
capable of 500 counts per revolution. Specific actuator details
as well as transmission ratios and sensor resolutions at the
joint are listed in Table II. Power is supplied from a Quanser
VoltPAQ-X4 linear voltage-controlled amplifier running in a
current control mode, and up to 4.16 A of continuous current
can be provided to each actuator. The amplifier and encoders
interface with MATLAB and Simulink through a Quanser
Q8-USB data acquisition device and Quarc control software.
The system is capable of operating at rates of up to 2 kHz Fig. 7. Top response from Fig. 6 when overlaid with the simulated response.
depending on the complexity of the controller.

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Fig. 8. Position and velocity of the RU joint during the static friction ramp Fig. 10. A Schroeder multisine input excites the FE joint through a range
test. of increasing frequencies while remaining constant in the power spectrum.

Fig. 9. Static friction of the PS, FE, and RU joints taken during the ramp Fig. 11. Bode plots obtained by estimating the transfer function of Fig 10.
test and plotted along their respective workspaces. Bandwidth values, defined by the -3 dB cutoff, are 4.7, 7.0, and 9.8 Hz for
the PS, FE, and RU joints, respectively.
actuator set to behave as a relatively soft spring with spring
constants of 15, 5, and 8 Nm/rad for PS, FE, and RU, C. Closed-Loop Position Bandwidth
respectively. A square wave position input with a step-to-step Since the device may employ a position control strategy
amplitude of 20◦ was commanded, and 3 complete cycles in the future, it is important to determine the closed-loop
were recorded. To cover most of the joint workspace, the position bandwidth. A critically damped PD controller was
test was conducted about starting joint angles of -50◦ , 0◦ , implemented, and a Schroeder multisined excitation signal
50◦ for PS; -30◦ , 0◦ , 30◦ for FE; and -5◦ , 0◦ , 5◦ for RU. conditioned between -10◦ and 10◦ was used as the position
Peaks and valleys were extracted from the underdamped input. Fig. 10 shows a representative plot of the commanded
response separately for both the top and bottom responses versus actual positions, with attenuation beginning around
(Fig. 6). From each response, the joint’s inertia, viscous the 10 second mark. Fig. 11 provides the Bode plot for each
damping coefficient, and kinetic friction parameters were DOF with the bandwidth cutoff of 3 dB clearly shown. The
calculated. The average values across all responses and bandwidth values are provided in Table III.
starting angles are given in Table III. To validate the accuracy
of the model, the averaged parameters and proportional gain IV. DISCUSSION
constant were used to simulate the model presented in [21]. Characterization of the OpenWrist underscores the sig-
A representative simulated response is shown in Fig. 7. nificance of the numerous design considerations likely to
improve its potential as a rehabilitative device. The model
B. Static Friction from [21] captures the dynamic properties with reason-
To investigate static friction, multiple position ramps were able accuracy despite its simplicity (Fig. 7). Compared to
commanded across the workspace of each joint. The input the RiceWrist-S, inertia reductions of 12% and 21% are
ramps up or down 5◦ over 2 seconds, pauses for an additional achieved in the FE and RU joints, respectively, as a result of
2 seconds, and then continues ramping in this manner until lower weight components and strategically placed actuators.
the extreme points of the workspace have been reached (Fig. Hybrid-ceramic ball bearings and improved capstan-cable
8). Static friction is inferred from the commanded torque windings contribute to decreases in maximum static friction
when movement is initiated, i.e., one time step before the by 47% in FE and 27% in RU. The separation of FE static
instant the backwards-differentiated velocity becomes non- friction measurements shown between 40◦ and 60◦ in Fig.
zero near the beginning of each ramp. Therefore, detecting 9 suggests that the test was affected by gravity. The effect
subtle changes in velocity were more important than accurate remained repeatable despite multiple attempts to eliminate
position control, so a soft proportional controller was used. it and is likely an outcome of the FE module’s asymmetric
Static friction as a function of joint workspace is shown in design. The inconsistent static friction at the extremes of the
Fig. 9, with average and max values highlighted in Table III. RU workspace are explained by a build-up and release of

724
 TABLE III
AVERAGE D EVICE C HARACTERISTICS

Inertia [kg · m2 ] Viscous Coeff. [ Nm·s

rad
] Kinetic Friction [Nm] Static Friction (Max) [Nm] Bandwidth [Hz]
Joint RW-S OpenWrist RW-S OpenWrist RW-S OpenWrist RW-S OpenWrist RW-S OpenWrist
PS 0.0258 0.0305 0.428 0.0252 n/a 0.1891 n/a (0.221) 0.2250 (0.3990) 3.5 4.6
FE 0.0134 0.0119 0.085 0.0019 n/a 0.0541 n/a (0.198) 0.0720 (0.1042) 6.0 7.0
RU 0.0048 0.0038 0.135 0.0029 n/a 0.1339 n/a (0.211) 0.1180 (0.1537) 8.3 9.8

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