Instructions from an Active Robotic Hand Increase Body Ownership and Task Clarity

This study introduces a novel approach to home rehabilitation exercise instructions, utilizing a 3D-printed robotic hand that can mimic the patient's hand movements and follow pre-programmed instructions. This robotic hand, made from inexpensive 3D printed components and hobbyist equipment, is controlled by open source computer vision tracking. Two within-subject crossover studies were conducted with 30 healthy participants. The first study assessed the participants' sense of embodiment, while the second compared their ability to remember movement exercises when instructed by the robotic hand versus video clips. The results showed that the participants experienced a higher sense of embodiment with the robotic hand in its active mode. Furthermore, they demonstrated significantly better short-term memory retention of medium and difficult finger movement sequences when instructed by the robotic hand compared to video instruction (F1,56=4.047, p<.05) and (F1,56=19.463, p <.05). These findings suggest that this innovative method could improve remote therapy and strengthen bodily ownership, which is essential in stroke rehabilitation.