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Playing the piano with a robotic third thumb: Assessing constraints of human augmentation

View ORCID ProfileAli Shafti, View ORCID ProfileShlomi Haar, Renato Mio, Pierre Guilleminot, View ORCID ProfileA. Aldo Faisal
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.21.108407
Ali Shafti
1Brain and Behaviour Lab: Dept. of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, London, UK
2Dept. of Computing, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, London, UK
3Behaviour Analytics Lab, Data Science Institute, SW7 2AZ, London, UK
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  • ORCID record for Ali Shafti
Shlomi Haar
1Brain and Behaviour Lab: Dept. of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, London, UK
3Behaviour Analytics Lab, Data Science Institute, SW7 2AZ, London, UK
4Dept. of Brain Sciences and UK Dementia Research Institute – Care Research & Technology Centre, Imperial College London, W12 0BZ, London, UK
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Renato Mio
1Brain and Behaviour Lab: Dept. of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, London, UK
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Pierre Guilleminot
1Brain and Behaviour Lab: Dept. of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, London, UK
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A. Aldo Faisal
1Brain and Behaviour Lab: Dept. of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, London, UK
2Dept. of Computing, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, London, UK
3Behaviour Analytics Lab, Data Science Institute, SW7 2AZ, London, UK
5UKRI CDT in AI for Healthcare, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, London, UK
6MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, W12 0NN, London, UK
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  • For correspondence: aldo.faisal@imperial.ac.uk
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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 could be predicted 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 predictable by their individual motor coordination abilities.

Competing Interest Statement

AS, SH, RM and PG declare no competing financial interests. AAF has consulted for Airbus.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
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Posted July 23, 2021.
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Playing the piano with a robotic third thumb: Assessing constraints of human augmentation
Ali Shafti, Shlomi Haar, Renato Mio, Pierre Guilleminot, A. Aldo Faisal
bioRxiv 2020.05.21.108407; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.21.108407
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Playing the piano with a robotic third thumb: Assessing constraints of human augmentation
Ali Shafti, Shlomi Haar, Renato Mio, Pierre Guilleminot, A. Aldo Faisal
bioRxiv 2020.05.21.108407; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.21.108407

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