Release date: 2016-03-10
The 3D printed prosthesis is not enough. I have reported a lot of similar news before, but it is the first time from purely mechanical to myoelectric control bionic prosthesis.
A 19-year-old Easton LaChappelle from Colorado, USA, has developed a more advanced device, the 3D printing prosthetic Anthromod, which is controlled by brainwaves.
Easton LaChappelle was not only hailed by the media as the next Jobs or Bill Gates, but also won the second prize of the International Science Engineering Competition, was invited by NASA to work, and also met with Obama.
When Easton LaChappelle was 14 years old, he started making robotic arms because he felt the robotic arm was cool. So, on the basis of no electronic, programming, mechanical knowledge, he began this impossible task. In the years that followed, through his unremitting efforts, his childhood illusions finally became reality in his messy bedroom. A robotic arm controlled by remote control gloves was born. Of course, he can also control it through his own ideas.
The first generation of robotic armes was made by Lego bricks, using fishing lines and surgical hoses to make fingers, and five independent servos to control arm movements. This robotic arm allowed Easton to win the third place in the 2011 Colorado Science Fair. But at the time, the robotic arm could not pick up some heavy objects.
And this is just the beginning. He then redesigned the new model himself and received technical support from a well-known local factory. They specialize in making plastic skeletons for the robotic arm. The second-generation robotic arm consists of 3D printed parts, tendons imitated by dental rubber bands, ligaments made of colored nylon-coated rubber coils, Nintendo remote sensing gloves, and brainwave control headphones that manipulate arm movements. The source of muscle power is a self-made servo consisting of a variable resistor and a DC motor. The robotic arm is obviously much better than before, especially in the palm of the hand. The new robot has knuckles similar to humans, and each finger can bend. A small motor mounted inside the wrist can move its fingers through a wire similar to a fishing line.
To control his robotic arm, Easton converted a 80's Nintendo game glove into a controller that could control the robotic arm. After that, he successfully hacked into the mindflex game controller, allowing himself to switch the robot arm through brain waves.
Later, at the Colorado Technology Expo, Easton met Jenny, a 7-year-old girl who had no arms. And from his parents' mouth, it was learned that the prosthetic implanted with Jenny's spinal cord cost $80,000. He was saddened to discover that as the girl grows, the righteous hand needs constant replacement, which is a heavy burden for the girl's family.
The little girl's things inspired a lot about Easton. Easton, 17, said that the ingenious hand that I invented can benefit many, many people with just another change of mind. His mission is to make a functional and affordable robotic arm.
Easton said that the technology is not complicated in this province, and the real cost is related to the expensive costs associated with it. And that's why Easton relies entirely on 3D printing technology to develop Antholmod.
"It can read about 10 channels of the brain, so it works a bit like a muscle sensor, it reads some small signals from the brain and then converts it into something that the software can read, we actually It will track the meaning of different brainwave representations and try to translate them into a specific action," Easton said. "So, according to this model, I can use the brain waves to realize the handshake or open the hand."
To control these brainwaves, you also need to wear a wireless headset, but it is very easy to operate. An amputee uses a wireless brainwave headset to control the prosthetic hand, and within 10 minutes he learns how to use the robotic hand smoothly through his mind. Easton also added an option to allow the user to choose a larger or smaller weight in the algorithm for manipulating the robot, making the user more intuitive to use.
In five years, Easton has done countless trials and experienced various failures and mistakes. From the three-dimensional design of the robotic arm to the conversion of the microcontroller to the microprocessor and motor signals. It is based on feedback from many people with disabilities and optimized programming. The world-class problem of this item once brought the boy to the brink of collapse. He also went to visit experts when there was no clue, but the experts felt that his project was too outrageous, especially the brainwave control could not be realized. The expert's disdain inspired the juvenile's determination and fighting spirit. After being inspired by a simple game, he finally invented the robotic arm completely.
Easton claims that the entire Anthromod costs about $600, and all designs are open source so that people can modify it to suit different situations, such as cut-offs or genetic defects. The young inventor did not take this revolutionary invention for himself. He has published the program code online, which means anyone can download it through the Internet and print the robot arm through a 3D printer.
Easton said: "The reason for simplifying and opening up this design as much as possible is that we want people to have a 3D printer and a little 3D printing experience to copy it and even modify it for new applications. Such a scenario is very exciting," he added.
Source: Sohu
Blood Sugar Meter,Sugar Check Machine,Fasting Glucose Test,Glucose Monitoring Device
Wuxi BioHermes Bio & Medical Technology Co., Ltd. , https://www.biohermesglobal.com