Robotic prosthetic arm

  We are designing a prosthetic robotic am for amputees and people with arm disabilities which consists of actuators and sensors. The main purpose of this project is to develop a low cost robotic arm using materials that are available in Pakistan so that we can commercialize this as a pr

Project Title

Robotic prosthetic arm

Project Area of Specialization

Robotics

Project Summary

We are designing a prosthetic robotic am for amputees and people with arm disabilities which consists of actuators and sensors. The main purpose of this project is to develop a low cost robotic arm using materials that are available in Pakistan so that we can commercialize this as a product for people in need. A myoelectric prosthesis uses the electrical tension generated every time a muscle contracts, as information. This tension can be captured from voluntarily contracted muscles by electrodes applied on the skin to control the movements of the prosthesis, such as elbow flexion/extension, wrist supination/pronation (rotation) or opening/closing of the fingers. A prosthesis of this type utilizes the residual neuromuscular system of the human body to control the functions of an electric powered prosthetic hand, wrist, elbow or foot. This is different from an electric switch prosthesis, which requires straps and/or cables actuated by body movements to actuate or operate switches that control the movements of the prosthesis. Advantages to using a myoelectric upper extremity prosthesis include the potential for improvement in cosmetic appeal, may be better for light everyday activities, and may be beneficial for people experiencing phantom limb pain. When compared to a body-powered prosthesis, a myoelectric prosthesis may not be as durable, may have a longer training time, may require more adjustments, may need more maintenance, and does not provide feedback to the user. EMG prosthetic hands are being extensively studied to meet with the need of the millions of physical disabilities who have lost a hand or both hands. But for most of existing multi degree of freedom EMG prosthetic hands, shortcomings such as low intensity, high price, have blocked them from practical realization. Low-degree freedom EMG prosthetic hand with high performance is therefore desired to solve these problems. The aim of this project is to optimize the low-freedom degree EMG prosthetic arm based on utilization rate of human hand’s joints in daily life. We will use motors to realize the rotary motions of the joints and use of tendons for the control. The low-freedom degree EMG prosthetic hand can also complete powerful grasp, precise grasp and lateral grasp which account for 70% hand motions in daily life.

Project Objectives

The inspiration of this project comes from the fact that there are more than a million people present in Pakistan who are facing the effects of amputation. We picked this idea to pave a way for prosthetics related to robotics as there is very little done in this field and help people live their life without having any disability inhibiting them to work properly. Our main goal is to make a cost efficient, market ready product that is easily available to the people of Pakistan.

The basic objective to develop an artificial device that replace the human arm and further objectives are summarized below:

• To design such a prosthetic arm that not only physically resemble with the human arm but also the aim to replicate as much as possible the functioning of human arm.
• To analyze the material, structure and feasible fabrication that should be light weight and easy to use by an amputee.
•  To restore the natural hand functionalities and design an arm that must have the DOF as closest as the human arm.
• To implement the proper placement of the actuators and sensors that read the data and do the activity in term of biomechanics.
• To study about the EMG sensors and servos for advanced natural control of an arm.
• To do literature review and research work that already performed by companies throughout the country.

Project Implementation Method

Our project flow would look like as follow:

TASK 1: Literature Review

Performing an in-depth review of projects related to EMG sensors and robotics. To have knowledge on:

• Types of sensors used.
• Complications in the already designed prototypes.
• Improvements that can be made

TASK 2: Sensors Calibration, Actuators & Batteries

 One of the main difficulties in a robotic project is the selection of sensors. To have a proper functioning robotic arm it is necessary to have calibrated readings for the microcontroller to process. This task will hold a big chunk in the project timeline. It will decide the readings we have to work with and how to make use of them to create a desirable output. We have already worked on an EMG sensor which was able to detect muscle impulses in our body.

We have also conducted a small test on an actuator. Mainly a single servo to get and idea of the working of the complete project. For the batteries we will be using lithium ion batteries as they have the ability to store more charge then other batteries and are widely used in robotic applications.

TASK 3: Structure & Placement

The installation of the sensors of the arm and the designing of the attached limb will go alongside with Task 2 and will require 3D printed models. Reduced weight and high durability are our main target.

TASK 4: Finishing and Testing

We plan on making a market ready product so the robotic arm will be given a finishing touch with testing the arm on actual amputee which will assure durability and stability of the limb.

TASK 5: Report

All the Procedures sensors and actuators will be documented for further work on the arm. Every improvement and readings carried through out the tenure will be summarized in a report.

Functions Arm can perform:

• Handshake
• Grab object
• Release object
• Wrist Movement

Benefits of the Project

This project is being designed to be used in the medical industry for the rehabilitation of people who suffer from amputation of forearm. Due to accidental trauma, war, and congenital anomalies, human beings are suffering since a long ago.

Continuous growth in industrialization and lack of awareness in safety parameters the cases of amputations are growing. The search of safer, simpler and automated prosthetic arms for managing upper limbs is expected. Continuous efforts have been made to design and develop prosthetic arms ranging from simple harness actuated to automated mechanisms with various control options. However due the cost constraints, the automated prosthetic arms are still out of the reach of needy people. Recent data have shown that there is a wide scope to develop a low cost and light weight upper limb prosthesis. This review summarizes the various designs methodologies, mechanisms and control system developed by the researchers and the advances therein. Educating the patient to develop acceptability to prosthesis and using the same for the most basic desired functions of human hand, post amputation care and to improve patient’s independent life is equally important. In conclusion it can be interpreted that there is a wide scope in design in an adaptive mechanism for opening and closing of the fingers using other methods of path and position synthesis. Simple mechanisms and less parts may optimize the cost factor.

the Robotic Prosthetic Arm will aid the people with their day to day functioning. it will give boost to the research in prosthetic and biomedical technologies in Pakistan. Following are some main goals and benefits of this project. 

• Increased prosthetic use
• Improved day to day functioning
• Full range of joint movement
• Improved comfort and confidence
• No skin problems
• Stable and safer arm oriented task completion 
• A sense of the artificial limb belonging to the body
• Easy and quick attachment and removal
• Reduced sense of disability
• Improved quality of life.

The Robotic arm would assist greatly in the medical industry for the rehabilitation of amputees.

• Amputees of forearm, who lost their arm due to infections or other accidents.
• Military personnel who were victims to gunshot wounds and were left disabled.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The operation of our project is entirely based upon the outcome of the EMG sensors, therefore the biggest milestone in our project is to generate accurate result from these EMG sensors. We plan to give maximum time to understand and work on it to find the best sensor for our prosthetic arm. The second phase of our project would be to design and assemble the prosthetic arm which would be light weight, user friendly, economical and natural looking. After the designing of prosthetic arm, we will install actuators in it. As we are going to use string methodology for the movement of fingers, we will need to carefully integrate the servo motors with the tip of the finger of our prosthetic arm. By the end of these two phases we will have and working EMG sensor calibrated with patient’s arm muscle and a wearable prosthetic arm with actuators installed in it. Now the final phase will be to integrate the results from the EMG sensor with the actuators fixed in the prosthetic arm. We have planned to perform all the calibrations on an actual amputee to get the best of this project. This is 2nd major phase after the calibration of EMG sensor with the arm's muscle as the major portion of the project would be done by then and our only objective would be to set it to deliver efficient performance on which the outcome of our project will be evaluated. The final picture of our project is of a bionic arm which will be controlled by the muscle sensor. By the end of the year we would be able to present our project in a working state being used by an amputee.

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Core Industry

Medical

Other Industries

Core Technology

Robotics

Other Technologies

NeuroTech, Wearables and Implantables

Sustainable Development Goals

Good Health and Well-Being for People

Required Resources

If you need this project, please contact me on contact@adikhanofficial.com