Project Vision In many parts of the world, touch typing has become such a ubiquitous skill that children learn it in their first few years of schooling. Although numerous interactive learning systems for touch typing exist, currently no software exists to provide feedback on whether the correct finger is used to press each key or the force with which the key was pressed. Incorrect finger usage ...

The present study analyzed (a) whether a recently reported phenomenon of repeated bout rate enhancement in finger tapping (i.e., a cumulating increase in freely chosen finger tapping frequency following submaximal muscle activation in the form of externally unloaded voluntary tapping) could be replicated and (b) the hypotheses that the faster tapping was accompanied by changed vertical displace...

This study reexamined the perceptual equivalence of active and passive touch using a computer-controlled force-feedback device. Nine subjects explored a 6 x 10-cm workspace, with the index finger resting on a mobile flat plate, and experienced simulated Gaussian ridges and troughs (width, 15 mm; amplitude, 0.5 to 4.5 mm). The device simulated shapes by modulating either lateral resistance with ...

This contribution presents a novel methodology for myolectric-based control using surface electromyographic (sEMG) signals recorded during finger movements. A multivariate Bayesian mixture of experts (MoE) model is introduced which provides a powerful method for modeling force regression at the fingertips, while also performing finger movement classification as a by-product of the modeling algo...

OBJECTIVE To examine the effects of keyswitch orientation on joint torques. BACKGROUND The fingertip produces primarily vertical forces during single-finger tapping on a computer keyswitch. However, horizontal force components within the sagittal plane of the finger could reduce net joint torques. METHOD Eleven participants tapped on a keyswitch oriented in three directions: vertical, tilte...

Few studies have investigated the control of grip force when manipulating an object with an extremely small mass using a precision grip, although some related information has been provided by studies conducted in an unusual microgravity environment. Grip-load force coordination was examined while healthy adults (N = 17) held a moveable instrumented apparatus with its mass changed between 6 g an...

It is difficult to generate the action of stably pinching paper or needle, etc. with the finger tips, which is one of the important functions to be realized by humanoid robot hands. In this paper, therefore, the authors firstly propose a small-sized and light-weight robotic hand designed according to the concept of extracting required minimum motor functions and implementing them to the robot, ...

We tested here the hypothesis that observing others' actions can facilitate basic aspects of motor performance, such as force production, even if subjects are not required to immediately reproduce the observed actions and if they are not aware that observation can form the basis for procedural training. To this end, we compared in healthy volunteers the effects of repeated actual execution (MOV...

1. Abstract Using the distributed actuation mechanism recently developed, this paper proposes the dual-mode operation of a finger-type manipulator that can switch between the force and velocity modes in order to achieve either the maximum force or the maximum velocity with the limited actuation power. The mathematical equations are derived for the fingertip force and velocity. Then, optimizatio...

We investigated whether slower velocity of arm movement affects grip-force generation in conditions with the finger touch provided to the wrist of the target arm. Nine subjects performed the task of lifting and transporting an object at slow, intermediate, and fast velocities with a light finger touch from the contralateral arm and without it. There was an effect of velocity of arm movement on ...