SBIR Phase II: Development and Evaluation of a Robust, Compliant, Sensorized Prosthetic Hand

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project concerns the most common problems with complex prosthetic hands: lack of robustness, lack of waterproofing, lack of sensory feedback, and high cost. This project will advance the development of waterproof multi-articulated hands with a touch feedback system, offering an affordable solution to restore confidence and independence to over 10 million amputees worldwide. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will extend the work done in Phase I to develop an affordable, robust myoelectric prosthetic hand that provides natural, compliant grasps with pressure feedback to users. The work in this proposal will involve advanced mechanical design techniques necessary for waterproofing a multi-articulated prosthetic hand. Additionally, the project will advance the development of a variable grip strength, semi-automatic contact reflex system to improve the range of manipulation tasks possible with upper limb prosthetic devices. Technical tasks include: 1) development of contact reflexes through integration of position control, pressure sensing interface, and speed control for both fine, compliant manipulation of delicate objects and gross manipulation of objects requiring high grip force; 2) waterproofing to an IP67 rating, a significant technical challenge because of the many potential points of ingress and required level of manufacturing precision; 3) the mobile application user interface; and 4) standardization for manufacturing at scale. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.