/ News
Sub $300 exiii handiii 3D Printed Open Source Bionic Hand is Controlled by a Smartphone
As time goes by and technology improves, we are constantly seeing prices for previously groundbreaking technology fall to levels which allow for the adoption of this technology by the masses. 3D printing is one of these technologies, in that now, virtually anyone in the developed world can afford a desktop 3D printer. At the same time though, other technologies are following in this same path. For example smartphones, tablets and mini computers can now perform tasks that a machine 20 years ago, at 100 times the price, couldn’t even have come close to achieving.
For one company out of Japan, called exiii, this has allowed them to create a myoelectric hand which not only is exponentially more functional than prosthetic hands from a decade ago, but also is available at just a fraction of the price.
In development for several years now, the latest version of exiii’s handiii was unveiled last week at SXSW, to the amazement of onlookers. The hand, which takes on the appearance of something very similar to what you’d see in Will Smith’s 2004 film, I, Robot, also has a bit of spider-like look to it when the fingers are bent and flexed.
The greatest benefit of the handii hand, however, is the price tag. Incredibly, unlike other pricey myoelectric hands and arms, which utilize expensive custom built computer systems, the handii uses the simplicity of a smartphone. An EMG sensor on the wearer’s arm sends signals to the smartphone which processes these signals and then sends a signal back to the hand, telling it which movements to make. In addition, exiii was able to create the hand in such a way that it only takes one motor to control each finger. Even though the fingers consist of three joints each, one motor located at the base joint is able to operate the entire finger.
The handii, which is developed with 3D printing technology, is also very customizable in that it can be purchased in varying color options. Also the fingers are interchangeable, meaning that different fingers can be added on for different situations. Perhaps you want a finger with a rubbery texture, or perhaps one with an electrical module. Perhaps you just want to change the color of the fingers. This can all easily be done.
Best of all, exiii is aiming to make the handiii open source so that others can take the design and iterate upon it, hopefully improving the design and functionality in the process.
Currently the company is taking orders and inquiries via a form on their website. It should be interesting to see how well this device catches on. Everyone has a smartphone now-a-days, so the affordability could make this an attractive option for people all around the world who are missing hands.
What do you think about the potential that this device could unleash on the prosthesis market? Discuss in the exiii handiii forum thread on 3DPB.com. Check out the videos of the handiii below.
Source: http://3dprint.com/52935/exiii-handiii-prosthetic-hand/
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Founded by Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov in February 2011 with the participation of leading Russian specialists in the field of neural interfaces, robotics, artificial organs and systems.
The main goals of the 2045 Initiative: the creation and realization of a new strategy for the development of humanity which meets global civilization challenges; the creation of optimale conditions promoting the spiritual enlightenment of humanity; and the realization of a new futuristic reality based on 5 principles: high spirituality, high culture, high ethics, high science and high technologies.
The main science mega-project of the 2045 Initiative aims to create technologies enabling the transfer of a individual’s personality to a more advanced non-biological carrier, and extending life, including to the point of immortality. We devote particular attention to enabling the fullest possible dialogue between the world’s major spiritual traditions, science and society.
A large-scale transformation of humanity, comparable to some of the major spiritual and sci-tech revolutions in history, will require a new strategy. We believe this to be necessary to overcome existing crises, which threaten our planetary habitat and the continued existence of humanity as a species. With the 2045 Initiative, we hope to realize a new strategy for humanity's development, and in so doing, create a more productive, fulfilling, and satisfying future.
The "2045" team is working towards creating an international research center where leading scientists will be engaged in research and development in the fields of anthropomorphic robotics, living systems modeling and brain and consciousness modeling with the goal of transferring one’s individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving cybernetic immortality.
An annual congress "The Global Future 2045" is organized by the Initiative to give platform for discussing mankind's evolutionary strategy based on technologies of cybernetic immortality as well as the possible impact of such technologies on global society, politics and economies of the future.
Future prospects of "2045" Initiative for society
2015-2020
The emergence and widespread use of affordable android "avatars" controlled by a "brain-computer" interface. Coupled with related technologies “avatars’ will give people a number of new features: ability to work in dangerous environments, perform rescue operations, travel in extreme situations etc.
Avatar components will be used in medicine for the rehabilitation of fully or partially disabled patients giving them prosthetic limbs or recover lost senses.
2020-2025
Creation of an autonomous life-support system for the human brain linked to a robot, ‘avatar’, will save people whose body is completely worn out or irreversibly damaged. Any patient with an intact brain will be able to return to a fully functioning bodily life. Such technologies will greatly enlarge the possibility of hybrid bio-electronic devices, thus creating a new IT revolution and will make all kinds of superimpositions of electronic and biological systems possible.
2030-2035
Creation of a computer model of the brain and human consciousness with the subsequent development of means to transfer individual consciousness onto an artificial carrier. This development will profoundly change the world, it will not only give everyone the possibility of cybernetic immortality but will also create a friendly artificial intelligence, expand human capabilities and provide opportunities for ordinary people to restore or modify their own brain multiple times. The final result at this stage can be a real revolution in the understanding of human nature that will completely change the human and technical prospects for humanity.
2045
This is the time when substance-independent minds will receive new bodies with capacities far exceeding those of ordinary humans. A new era for humanity will arrive! Changes will occur in all spheres of human activity – energy generation, transportation, politics, medicine, psychology, sciences, and so on.
Today it is hard to imagine a future when bodies consisting of nanorobots will become affordable and capable of taking any form. It is also hard to imagine body holograms featuring controlled matter. One thing is clear however: humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully managed evolutionary transition and eventually become a new species. Moreover, prerequisites for a large-scale expansion into outer space will be created as well.
Key elements of the project in the future
• International social movement
• social network immortal.me
• charitable foundation "Global Future 2045" (Foundation 2045)
• scientific research centre "Immortality"
• business incubator
• University of "Immortality"
• annual award for contribution to the realization of the project of "Immortality”.
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