Currently, the gap between the existing soft robotic hand designs and the practical requirements significantly hampers the potential to transfer these designs to real-world applications. These requirements are:
- Light weight (less than the average weight of a human hand)
- Intrinsic actuation system (embedded in the hand structure)
- Robust finger kinematic design and compliance in the mechanical design
- Powered thumb for multiple grasping types
- Ease of manufacture and personalisation
- Sufficient functionalities and the balance between the functionalities and complexity
The X-Limb hand prosthesis design addressed these requirements with the consideration of the trade-off between practicality and performance.
More details in the following open-access paper in PLoS ONE:
Performance of the X-Limb in carrying out activities of daily living is available in the following video in YouTube:
X-Limb - A Lightweight Soft Robotic Prosthetic Hand
- Overall weight: 253gr
- Grasp types: Three grasps types (power, pinch, and tripod) with capability of individual finger movement
- Grip force: Power grasp force of 21.5N and pinch grasp force of 10.2N
- Hand closing/opening speed: 1.3sec
- Cost: Bill of material cost of 200 USD (excluding quick disconnect wrist but without factoring in the cost reduction through mass production).