This repository contains the firmware and Python tools for controlling the NML Hand Exoskeleton—a modular, open-source robotic hand exoskeleton platform for research and prototyping.

The NML Hand Exoskeleton includes:

• 🦾 Microcontroller firmware (Arduino/C++): real-time motor control and communication.
• 🐍 Python API: high-level interface for controlling the device.
• 🛠️ Demo scripts: examples of using the device with real-time EMG streaming and GUI control.

Code was tested on Windows 11, Python 3.10.

git clone https://github.com/Neuro-Mechatronics-Interfaces/NML_Hand_Exo.git
cd NML_Hand_Exo

Choose one of the following methods to create a virtual environment for this project:

• Using Anaconda :

  conda create -n handexo
  conda activate handexo

• or using Python's virtualenv:

  python3 -m venv .handexo # Use python -m venv .handexo on Windows
  source .handexo/bin/activate # On Linux/Mac
  # call .handexo/Scripts/activate  # On Windows

pip install -r requirements.txt

For local development, you can also install the python API as a package.

pip install -e .

If you are on Max's WTF dev/Max side-branch, you can also add his WTF code at your own risk.

pip install -e src/nml_wtf_exo      

(this extra/dev installation lets you use entry-level scripts for Max WTF applications, such as):

nml-wtf-exo          # launches main exo app
nml-wtf-exo-viewer   # opens your viewer GUI
nml-wtf-exo-logger   # starts logger
nml-wtf-exo-keyboard # opens keyboard overlay app

The exo device uses an openRB-150 microcontroller from ROBOTIS. The firmware is located in src/cpp/nml_hand_exo and can be uploaded via the Arduino IDE.

The firmware includes a class NMLHandExo, which handles:

• Dynamixel initialization and setup
• Motor control by ID, name, or alias
• Joint limits and angle-to-position conversion
• Calibration and LED feedback
• Serial command parsing

To upload the firmware:

1. Open nml_hand_exo.ino in the Arduino IDE.
2. Select the correct board and port under Tools.
3. Upload the sketch.

An example of using the Python API for scripting and control:

from nml_hand_exo.hand_exo import HandExo

exo = HandExo('COM3', baudrate=57600)
exo.enable_motor(1)
exo.set_motor_angle(1, 45)
angle = exo.get_motor_angle(1)
print(f"Motor angle: {angle} degrees")
exo.disable_motor(1)

You can control the hand exoskeleton over USB or Bluetooth using simple, structured serial commands. For example:

• set_angle:WRIST:30 — set wrist motor to 30 degrees.

• enable:1 — enable motor 1 torque.

• get_angle:1 — query relative angle.

Supported aliases are THUMB, INDEX, MIDDLE, RING, PINKY, WRIST

For a complete list of commands, see the Usage Guide.

A demo script is included to showcase real-time plotting of EMG signals from a connected MindRove EMG band.

1. Connect your MindRove EMG Band to the PC (using a Wifi dongle if you want to maintain internet connection on a separate wifi network)
2. Run the demo script

   python demo_mindrove_realtime.py
   

If you use this project in your research, please cite it as:

Jonathan Shulgach & Kriti Kacker. (2025). NML Hand Exoskeleton [Computer software]. https://github.com/Neuro-Mechatronics-Interfaces/NML_Hand_Exo

BibTeX:

@misc{shulgach_kacker_2025_nmlhandexo,
  author       = {Jonathan Shulgach and Kriti Kacker},
  title        = {NML Hand Exoskeleton},
  year         = {2025},
  publisher    = {GitHub},
  journal      = {GitHub repository},
  howpublished = {\url{https://github.com/Neuro-Mechatronics-Interfaces/NML_Hand_Exo}}
}

## License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.