The Most Advanced AI-powered Prosthetics ‘Ever Created’
Scientists from the University of Utah have created the most sophisticated AI-powered prosthetics “ever created,” prompting Ottobock, the world’s largest prosthetic manufacturer, to team up, launching the project internationally.
The university’s Tommaso Lenzi, associate professor at the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and director of the Bionic Engineering Lab, mentioned that “The goal of the partnership is to ‘refine ability’ by combining advanced technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence, neural engineering with manufacturing, health services, and patient care”.
The partnership will guarantee the “cutting-edge technologies” make it out of the labs and into the markets “as quickly as possible,” Lenzi added.
Under development for a number of years, the project has represented students and academics from the university.
How it works
The Utah Bionic Leg integrates processors, electric motors, and innovative artificial intelligence (AI), providing amputees the strength and flexibility to carry out activities that the typical individual may take for granted.
“It is a superior prosthetic knee, incomparable to any currently available product,” stated Hans Georg Näder, owner and chairman of the board of directors at Ottobock, on Wednesday, during the collaborative launch.
Amputees depend on their intact legs and upper body to make up for the absence of support offered by their assigned prosthesis. With the Utah Bionic Leg, this is less of an issue since the prosthesis’ enhanced power improves mobility.
Lenzi described that if one is to start speeding up, the prosthetic “will walk faster for you,” making sure the user gets “more energy.” The prosthetic additionally “adapts automatically to the height of the steps in a staircase. Or, it can help you cross over obstacles”.
The Prosthetic mimics muscle cells
Its superior technological degree differentiates the Utah Bionic Leg from other prostheses.
The technology that makes the bionic leg “fundamentally works like the muscle cells in the nervous system of the leg,” stated Lenzi.
Custom-made pressure and torque sensors, along with accelerometers and gyroscopes, calculate the leg’s position in space. According to the university, these sensors are connected to a processor, which interprets sensor inputs and translates them into movements of the prosthetic joints.
“Based on that real-time data,” the leg delivers power to the motors in the joints, enabling them to help in walking, standing up, walking up and down stairs, or navigating around obstacles.
The prosthetic leg’s ‘smart transmission system’ links the electric motors to the robotic joints. This enhanced system adjusts the joint actions for every task, “like shifting gears on a bike.”
Wearers can successfully control the prosthetic for prolonged periods, precisely like they would with a complete arm or leg, thanks to the robotic knee, ankle, and toe joints.
Doing so much more
“It’s just so different. It’s so much more technical and allows you to do so much more, and it takes so much less energy. That’s like the real big benefit for me,” stated Alec McMorris, a football coach at a School and an amputee that has collaborated directly with the project for the past five years.
The partnership will offer to finance a cutting-edge motion analysis system that consists of a force-sensing stairwell and treadmill, 3D motion-capture cameras, and additional tools to evaluate exactly how the Utah Bionic Leg benefits users and determine possible upgrades to their technology.
Additionally, Ottobock and the university will share ownership of any future developments created in the facility.
Originally published by: Interesting Engineering
