Smart Robot Prosthetic Hand from WPI wins 2014 Cornell Cup by Intel

When students, Thanacha Choopojcharoen, Adam Jardim, Deniz Ozgoren, Sean Casley, under the direction of professors Cagdas D Onal and Taskin Padir; worked on their Master Qualifying Project at WPI last Fall, they never imaged a first place win at the highly prized Cornell Cup presented by Intel. The field of universities, from around the country, showcased the best in embedded design systems.

The Smart Robot Hand answered a critical need. Though the prosthesis industry has experienced a great revolution in upper body prostheses with the introduction of advanced myoelectric grippers, users are still far from being able to complete everyday tasks with the same level of ease they once could. Complaints of available products like the i-Limb and Bebionic hand include difficulty in performing tasks due to complex user interfaces as well as a high market cost that makes the technology especially expensive to people without insurance.

As a solution to these issues, students from WPI proposed the creation of a Smart Prosthetic Hand – a semiautonomous robotic prosthesis capable of determining the most appropriate grip for grasping an object then executing that grip. They created a prototype and used the following design specifications:
•                Anthropomorphic form
•                Human like movement in the fingers
•                Object recognition capability
•                Force sensing in the fingers
•                Self-contained
•                Image processing on board
•                Low Cost

Congratulations to the WPI team, Mike Gennert, and the Robotics Engineering department that continues to innovate new technologies to improve our world. Marie

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Marie Planchard

Senior Director, Early Engagement, 3DEXPERIENCE Works at Dassault Systemes

Marie Planchard is an education and engineering advocate. As Senior Director of Education & Early Engagement, SOLIDWORKS, she is responsible for global development of content and social outreach for the 3DEXPERIENCE Works products across all levels of learning including educational institutions, Fab Labs, and entrepreneurship.