“OVERVIEW OF PROSTHETIC ARM USING 3-D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY AND CONTROL SYSTEM”

Electronics and Communication Engineering

Aimed at improving the quality of life for amputees, this project investigates the design of a prosthetic arm to mimic its human counterpart. In particular it examines alternative mechanisms to data acquisition and transmission. This paper provides the basis for the development of a prosthetic limb that operates as a part of the human body’s neural network. As opposed to a conventional prosthesis that only provides motion of the extremity, this design aims to lay the foundations for incorporation of added sensory feedback into the nervous system so as to provide the tactile sensations experienced by a human arm. The transform of the input signals to the required output location is done with traditional coordinate reference systems. The physical structure of the hand has been modelled such that it can be easily assembled. It has been simplified such that it only has six of the twenty degrees of freedom while retaining some of the important motions of the human hand. A two-finger model has been constructed. This model exhibits the full range of motion required to grip an object with some degree of force. A virtual reality model package has been developed in visual basic to control the model in such a manner that it is able to demonstrate the potential of the project.

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