Development of a new measuring device for indirect estimation of hand grip forces

Thank you for your interest in the position. Please answer the following assessment. You can provide your answers in a .pdf file including whatever media you think relevant (drawings, code, etc.). The file must be 2-pages long max.

Context

The aim is to develop a new solution for indirect estimation of hand grasping forces around everyday objects. For technical reasons we do not want to use electromyography, we are rather willing to exploit the mechanical information linked to the contraction of the numerous muscles of the forearm. To do so, we wish to develop a new measuring device associated with an estimation algorithm enabling us to find the forces applied by the hand on an object. The solution must be wearable (compact and lightweight), and we need to be able to build prototypes to showcase the performances of the proposed technology.
To understand the motivation behind this project, surround your right forearm with your left hand while simulating playing the piano on your desk with your right hand. You can feel tiny deformations of the forearm surface that are probably a good image of the forces exerted by your fingers on the desktop.

Assessment

• Explain how you would start to investigate this question. What scientific approach would you follow ?
• Focusing on the measuring device, describe briefly (500 words max) one or several technical solutions to measure the deformation of the forearm cross section (as shown in the right image) using any physical phenomenon that you deem relevant. Do not hesitate to give technical details on the physics of your solutions and on their implementation. Be critical of your solutions.

Send your answer by email at francois.bailly@inria.fr before January 21th, 2024.