The sensation is so easy to interpret that amputee volunteers in the study were able to take advantage of it within minutes after being outfitted with the technology, improving the control they have over their robotic hands. Moreover, the individuals experienced a greater ‘sense of agency’ with regards to their devices, further helping them to have an intuitive, natural sense of the prostheses.
Kinesthetic feedback improves control of prosthetic devices
Researchers at Cleveland Clinic have introduced a system that recreates so-called kinesthetic perception and significantly improves the dexterity of individuals using hand prostheses. Their technology involves vibrators that stimulate the muscles that are used to control the movement of prostheses. As the fingers of the device are opened and closed, vibrations are induced, the nature of which reveals to the user where their hand is.