Project description
Prosthetic hands do not yet function like biological hands. Current prosthetic hands use actuators that are slow, bulky, and often noisy. This project aims to look at materials that might be able to replace these actuators to overcome these limitations. Nitinol is the most promising material to use for actuators in the prosthetic hand. It can contract when an electric current runs through it. However, it is very slow to cool down and expand again. There are papers that have suggested that you can combine different wire or spring arrangements to help overcome this limitation. However, none of the previous studies have found an adequate solution to this yet. By combining the methods used in different papers, it may be possible to create a finger that can flex and extend fast enough for prosthesis-use, and be able to do repeated movements without waiting for the nitinol to cool first. This project assesses the different configurations of nitinol springs and wires to assess whether flexion and extension can be made quick enough using nitinol, while maintaining a high enough force.
Assumed knowledge
This project is focused on electronics. A background in electronics is helpful, but not a requirement.
Supervisors research focus
Improving prosthetic hands
Note: You need to register interest in projects from different supervisors (not a number of projects with the one supervisor).
You must also contact each supervisor directly to discuss both the project details and your suitability to undertake the project.