Learning from the human hand: Force control and perception using a soft-synergy prosthetic hand and noninvasive haptic feedback

Force control and perception plays an important role in activities of daily living when handling objects with different physical properties. These abilities are results of complex sensorimotor pathways that coordinate movements, predict consequences, and process feedback. For prosthetic systems, the ability to exhibit human-like action and perception behavior is critical for the acceptance of the terminal device. In this chapter, we review recent findings obtained from a bioinspired soft-synergy prosthetic hand and a noninvasive mechanotactile feedback device. A series of experiments demonstrated the improvement in force control and perception in closed-loop prosthesis through context-aware myoelectric controllers and contralateral haptic training protocols. By comparing performances between human native hands and prosthetic hands, we provide novel insights on the importance of learning from human sensorimotor mechanisms in the design of upper-limb neuroprosthesis.