A Grasping Movement Intention Estimator for Intuitive Control of Assistive Devices

This study introduces i-GRIP, an innovative movement goal estimator designed to facilitate the control of assistive devices for grasping tasks in individuals with upper-limb impairments. The algorithm operates within a collaborative control paradigm, eliminating the need for specific user actions apart from naturally moving their hand toward a desired object. i-GRIP analyzes the hand’s movement in an object-populated scene to determine its target and select an appropriate grip. In an experimental study involving 11 healthy participants, i-GRIP exhibited promising estimation performances (success rates of 89.9% for target identification and 94.8% for grip selection) and responsiveness (mean delays of 0.53 s for target identification and 0.39 s for grip selection), showing its potential to facilitate the daily use of grasping assistive devices for individuals with upper-limb impairments.