Beyond Humanoid Prosthetic Hands

Modular Terminal Devices That Improve User Performance

Digby Chappell, Barry Mulvey, Shehara Perera, Fernando Bello, Petar Kormushev, and Nicolas Rojas

When you think of a prosthetic hand you probably think of something similar to Luke Skywalker's robotic hand from Star Wars, or even Furiosa's multi-fingered claw from Mad Max. The reality is a far cry from these fictional hands: upper limb prostheses are generally very limited in what they can do, and how we can control them to do it.

In this project, we investigate non-humanoid prosthetic hand design, exploring a new ideology for the design of upper limb prostheses that encourages alternative approaches to prosthetic hands.

In this wider, more open design space, can we surpass humanoid prosthetic hands?

Take a look at the modular non-humanoid prostheses that we've developed.

Use our base platform to make your own modular terminal devices.