Friday, August 5, 2022
OANDP-L
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
The O&P EDGE
  • PECOS
  • Magazine
    • Subscription
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • News Archive
    • Product & Service Directory
    • Advertising Information
  • O&P Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
  • EDGE Advantage
  • O&P Facilities
  • Resources
    • Product & Service Directory
    • Calendar
    • Contact
    • About Us
    • O&P Library
    • The Guide
    • Custom Publications
    • Advertising Information
    • EDGE Direct
    • Amplitude Media Group
  • PECOS
  • Magazine
    • Subscription
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • News Archive
    • Product & Service Directory
    • Advertising Information
  • O&P Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
  • EDGE Advantage
  • O&P Facilities
  • Resources
    • Product & Service Directory
    • Calendar
    • Contact
    • About Us
    • O&P Library
    • The Guide
    • Custom Publications
    • Advertising Information
    • EDGE Direct
    • Amplitude Media Group
No Result
View All Result
The O&P EDGE Magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Delivery of Open-source Prosthesis to Speed Research

by The O&P EDGE
December 16, 2021
in News
0
SHARES
116
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Researchers at the University of Michigan and assistive technology company Humotech, Pittsburgh, are bringing an open-source, artificially intelligent prosthetic leg to the research market. The goal of the collaboration is to speed the development of control software for robotic prosthetic legs.

Alejandro Francisco Azocar prepares to test the open-source robotic leg. Photograph courtesy of the University of Michigan and Robert Coelius, Michigan Engineering.

“We developed the open-source leg to foster the study of control strategies for robotic prostheses—one of the most prominent barriers hindering their public impact,” said Elliott Rouse, PhD, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at U-M’s Robotics Institute.

“The open-source leg is now being used by over ten other research groups to develop control strategies on a common platform, but we noticed some research groups would rather not build it themselves. To maximize the benefit to the public, a product-like solution was needed.”

First released in 2019, the open-source leg’s free-to-copy design is intended to accelerate scientific advances by offering a unified platform to fragmented research efforts across the field of bionics. Now, for labs that need an off-the-shelf robotic prosthesis for research and development, Humotech will provide an assembled version of the open-source leg, including warranty service and technical support.

“We see many benefits to standardizing the hardware and software used by the research community,” said Josh Caputo, president and CEO of Humotech. “The fully contained and powerful open-source leg is a natural expansion of what we can do to support our mission to transform the way the world develops wearable robotics.

“By offering a preassembled version with professional support, we hope to improve access to this platform for studying the control of robotic prosthetic legs. We’re extremely excited to partner with the University of Michigan on this strategic initiative and together help accelerate research and innovation in the field.”

Humotech, originating from Carnegie Mellon University, develops tools for the advancement of wearable robotic control systems and other wearable devices. Using its own research community, Humotech will further build and support a development community around the open-source leg and seek to incorporate the leg into Humotech’s Caplex platform. Caplex is a hardware and software testbed that enables researchers to emulate the mechanics of wearable machines, including prostheses and exoskeletons.

In collaboration, Rouse’s lab and Humotech will also iterate on new versions of the open-source leg to meet the needs of prosthetic wearers and researchers.

The original prosthetic leg was designed to be simple, low cost, and high performance. Its modular design can act as a knee, ankle, or both, with an onboard power supply and control electronics that allow it to be tested anywhere. Rouse collaborated with Levi Hargrove, PhD, director of the Center for Bionic Medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago, to develop this first model.

Rouse hopes Humotech’s partnership will expand the capabilities of other labs and enable them to conduct high-impact research.

“This collaboration furthers the mission of our open-source leg project,” Rouse said. “The translation of an open-source research prototype to a commercial product is rare for our field, but our partnership can continue to lower the barrier to research, speed technical advances, and in the end, positively impact lives.”

Editor’s note: This story was adapted from materials provided by the University of Michigan.

Related posts:

  1. Open-source Prosthesis Available for Real-world Testing
  2. JHU APL, Open Bionics Net Spots on Most Innovative Company List
  3. Open Prosthetic Project Announces New Website
  4. Study Discusses Open-source 3D-printed Cyborg Hand
Previous Post

Curbell Plastics Donation Used for Burn Masks

Next Post

DME MACs Release Partial Foot, Shoe Insert Coding Clarification

Next Post

DME MACs Release Partial Foot, Shoe Insert Coding Clarification

  • VIEW CURRENT ISSUE
  • SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE

RECENT NEWS

News

NAAOP To Host Virtual Congressional Fly-in

by The O&P EDGE
July 27, 2022

The National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics (NAAOP) is hosting the 2022 Virtual Congressional Fly-in on Thursday,...

Read more

Research Shows Function Improvements With Multiarticulating Hands

ROMP Hires

SPS Names New Sales Manager

Get unlimited access!

Join EDGE ADVANTAGE and unlock The O&P EDGE's vast library of archived content.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY

O&P JOBS

Central

CPO – Orthotics and Prosthetics – Full Time

Pacific

CPO

Central

Were Growing!

 

© 2021 The O&P EDGE

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • EDGE Advantage
  • OANDP-L
  • Subscribe

CONTACT US

866-613-0257

[email protected]

201 E. 4th St
Loveland, CO 80537

The most important industry news and events delivered directly to your inbox every week.

No Result
View All Result
  • PECOS
  • MAGAZINE
    • SUBSCRIBE
    • CURRENT ISSUE
    • ISSUE ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ARCHIVE
    • PRODUCTS & SERVICES DIRECTORY
    • ADVERTISING INFORMATION
  • O&P JOBS
    • FIND A JOB
    • POST A JOB
  • EDGE ADVANTAGE
  • FACILITES
  • RESOURCES
    • PRODUCTS & SERVICES DIRECTORY
    • CALENDAR
    • CONTACT
    • ABOUT US
    • O&P LIBRARY
    • THE GUIDE
    • CUSTOM PUBLICATIONS
    • ADVERTISING
    • EDGE DIRECT
    • AMPLITUDE
  • OANDP-L
  • LOGIN

© 2021The O&P EDGE

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
The O&P EDGE Magazine
 
Required 'Candidate' login to applying this job. Click here to logout And try again
 

Login to your account

  • Forgot Password? | Sign Up

Reset Password

  • Already have an account? Login

Enter the username or e-mail you used in your profile. A password reset link will be sent to you by email.

Signup to your Account

  • By clicking checkbox, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

    Already have an account? Login

Close
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?
 

Account Activation

Before you can login, you must activate your account with the code sent to your email address. If you did not receive this email, please check your junk/spam folder. Click here to resend the activation email. If you entered an incorrect email address, you will need to re-register with the correct email address.