Robohub.org
 

3D printed robotic prosthetic hand makes Intel finals


by
02 October 2014



share this:
Open_Hand_Project_Joel_Gibbard

Our 3D-printed prosthetic hand project has made the global finals of Intel’s Make it Wearable competition!  Open Bionics came out of the Open Hand Project, where we developed a 3D printed robotic hand that would cost amputees less than $1,000.

Our idea is to significantly reduce the cost of prosthetic hands by using 3D printing. We wanted to create a sustainable way hand amputees could get affordable prosthetics. So, we submitted a video explaining what we’re trying to achieve and we were selected as finalists!

As finalists we have already won $50k and will compete to win the Make it Wearable competition’s $500k first prize. We also get to fly to the United States for mentoring and training as one of ten projects selected.

Open Bionics is open-source, which means that all of the know-how needed to create a robotic prosthetic hand will eventually be posted on our website. The idea is that potentially anyone can improve and customise the designs themselves, and then upload them for everyone to share.

Our prosthetic hand offers much of the functionality of a human hand. It uses electric motors instead of muscles and steel cables instead of tendons. 3D printed plastic parts work like bones and a rubber coating acts as the skin. All of these parts are controlled by electronics to give it a natural movement that can handle all sorts of different objects.

We’ve made some great progress in the last few weeks: We’ve got the circuit boards working and controlling the motors, all that needs to be done now is a few more tweaks on the hand design and for the code to be written. I’ve enlisted the help of an embedded software developer that I work with at the BRL so we’ll be working on this over the next few weeks. The aim is to send out our prototype hand before the end of the Make It Wearable competition and receive some useful feedback on its performance.

We’re also working on a mini robot hand called “Adams” that is designed to work on small humanoid robots using a new flexible material that is 3D printed in one piece and requires very little assembly. We plan to scale the Adams hand up soon, so we can create a new hand for children.

We’re currently based in the incubator at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL). For more info, visit www.openbionics.com.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

See all the latest robotics news on Robohub, or sign up for our weekly newsletter.



tags: , , , ,


Joel Gibbard is a roboticist living in Bristol, UK.
Joel Gibbard is a roboticist living in Bristol, UK.





Related posts :



#RoboCup2025: social media round-up 1

  21 Jul 2025
Find out what participants got up to during the opening days of RoboCup2025 in Salvador, Brazil.

Livestream of RoboCup2025

  18 Jul 2025
Watch the competition live from Salvador!

Tackling the 3D Simulation League: an interview with Klaus Dorer and Stefan Glaser

and   15 Jul 2025
With RoboCup2025 starting today, we found out more about the 3D simulation league, and the new simulator they have in the works.

An interview with Nicolai Ommer: the RoboCupSoccer Small Size League

and   01 Jul 2025
We caught up with Nicolai to find out more about the Small Size League, how the auto referees work, and how teams use AI.

RoboCupRescue: an interview with Adam Jacoff

and   25 Jun 2025
Find out what's new in the RoboCupRescue League this year.

Robot Talk Episode 126 – Why are we building humanoid robots?

  20 Jun 2025
In this special live recording at Imperial College London, Claire chatted to Ben Russell, Maryam Banitalebi Dehkordi, and Petar Kormushev about humanoid robotics.

Gearing up for RoboCupJunior: Interview with Ana Patrícia Magalhães

and   18 Jun 2025
We hear from the organiser of RoboCupJunior 2025 and find out how the preparations are going for the event.

Robot Talk Episode 125 – Chatting with robots, with Gabriel Skantze

  13 Jun 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Gabriel Skantze from KTH Royal Institute of Technology about having natural face-to-face conversations with robots.



 

Robohub is supported by:




Would you like to learn how to tell impactful stories about your robot or AI system?


scicomm
training the next generation of science communicators in robotics & AI


©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence


 












©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence