Festival Area: Expand Your Horizons

Project Description:

The MAProHand Project, which is currently running at the University of Malta, focuses on the development of an innovative prosthetic hand for people who have had their natural hand amputated below the elbow. The project involves both the mechanical aspects of the device (e.g. what is the minimum number of active finger and thumb joints for acceptable performance, and how will these be coupled to each other and/or driven) and the control aspect (i.e. how can the user issue commands to the prosthetic hand in a way that is reliable and that feels as natural as possible).

The video contains a discussion on prosthetics, mainly on prosthetic hands and on their importance to amputees, and highlights the main requirements and challenges of their designs. The video describes the aim of MAProHand, which is to reach a balance between three important design features of the prosthetic hand, namely, simplicity, dexterity and usability, to improve amputee satisfaction. A basic and interactive overview of the intricate details that one needs to understand when it comes to the design of a new prosthetic hand are explained from the mechanical and control points of view, and it is shown that these two aspects ultimately need to come together for successful operation of the device. Therefore, throughout this video, the viewer will be guided to understand the researchers’ thought process during the various stages of the project, as well as to participate in demonstrative experiments, to make this an exciting venture for all to follow.