Create a hand capable of seeing objects


Create a hand capable of seeing objects



The bionic prosthesis incorporates a camera that evaluates the size of things and allows accurate movements




  A team of researchers from the University of Newcastle (United Kingdom), advised by a group of health experts, has created a new generation of prosthetic limbs that will allow their owners to reach and pick up objects automatically without thinking.

The bionic hand is equipped with a camera that takes pictures of the object in front of it, evaluates its shape and size, and activates a series of movements in the limb.

  With this technology, the British project saves time in the recognition and reaction of the prosthesis by preventing the user from seeing the object, physically stimulating the muscles in the arm and generating movement in the prosthetic limb.

Research co-author Kianoush Nazarpour, professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Newcastle, explains in an article published in the scientific journal Journal of Neural Engineering. that "the prosthetic limbs have changed very little in the last 100 years, the design is much better and the materials are lighter and more durable, but they still work in the same way".

"Using computerized vision, we have developed a bionic hand that can automatically respond, in fact, like a real hand, the user can reach out and grab a cup or cookie with just a quick glance in the right direction."

For the researcher, "the ability to respond has always been one of the main barriers of artificial limbs."

The current prostheses of hands are controlled by myoelectric signals, that is to say, the electrical activity of the muscles registered in the surface of the skin of the stump. However, controlling them, says Professor Nazarpour, demands practice, concentration and time.

When this camera "sees" an object, it chooses the most appropriate grip and sends a signal to the hand, all in a matter of milliseconds and ten times faster than any other prosthesis in the market.

After grouping and analyzing all types of objects according to size, shape and orientation, the development team programmed the hand with four different grabs to pick up objects: in neutral position (as when a cup is taken), in pronation (as if to take a control) at a distance), in the form of a tripod (thumb and two fingers) and a pinch (thumb and index finger).

In that sense, this "hand that sees" is an interim solution that will reduce the gap between current designs and the future. "It is economical and can be implemented very soon because it does not require new prostheses, we can adapt the ones we already have," said the expert.

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