Playing the piano with a robotic third thumb: Assessing constraints of human augmentation
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Shafti, Seyed Ali
Haar Millo, Shlomi
Mio Zaldivar, Renato
Guilleminot, Pierre
Faisal, Aldo
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Contemporary robotics gives us mechatronic capabilities for augmenting human bodies with extra limbs. However, how our motor control capabilities pose limits on such augmentation is an open question. We developed a Supernumerary Robotic 3rd Thumbs (SR3T) with two degrees-of-freedom controlled by the user’s body to endow them with an extra contralateral thumb on the hand. We demonstrate that a pianist can learn to play the piano with 11 fingers within an hour. We then evaluate 6 naïve and 6 experienced piano players in their prior motor coordination and their capability in piano playing with the robotic augmentation. We show that individuals’ augmented performance with the SR3T could be explained by our new custom motor coordination assessment, the Human Augmentation Motor Coordination Assessment (HAMCA) performed pre-augmentation. Our work demonstrates how supernumerary robotics can augment humans in skilled tasks and that individual differences in their augmentation capability are explainable by their individual motor coordination abilities.
Date Issued
2021-11-01
Date Acceptance
2021-10-05
Citation
Scientific Reports, 2021, 11 (21375), pp.1-14
ISSN
2045-2322
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Start Page
1
End Page
14
Journal / Book Title
Scientific Reports
Volume
11
Issue
21375
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Sponsor
Commission of the European Communities
Identifier
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-00376-6
Grant Number
644000
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-11-01