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Bristol-based bionic arm wins Dyson award
A Bristol designer has been given the James Dyson Award for his 3D-printed robotic hand prototype.
Joel Gibbard’s Open Bionics company has invented a way of scanning the arms of amputees and printing a low-cost and quickly-made bionic replacement limb.
This prototype is stronger, more comfortable and more lightweight and existing products and at £2,000 for one device, which includes the cost of fitting, it is relatively low-cost.
Amputees can control grip and strength of the bionic arm by relying on myoelectric signals, which detects muscle movements through sensors that are stuck to the person’s skin.
One flex of the muscle can open and close the fingers, and a double flex can change to form a pinch grip. Although it is not possible to feel what the fingers are touching, there are also built-in sensors that detect when the hand comes into contact with something.
Gibbard claims his device will be on the market next year.
Open Bionics won The Limbless Association Prosthetic and Orthotics Award for outstanding contributions and achievements in the limb-loss and health-care communities last year. Gibbard also won the Founder of the Year Award at The Sparkies awards, as well as the Young Design Engineer of the Year Award.
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