A UK based company, Steeper Group, has created the “BeBionic” hand for Nicky Ashwell, a 26-year-old from London who was born without a right hand. The company claims it is the most “anatomically accurate” bionic hand available and offers an “unrivalled level of precision and natural movements”.
The artificial hand is the result of seven years of research and development, which involved adoption of military technology and Formula 1 and contains three hundred and thirty-seven mechanical parts. Researchers created a structure based around the architecture of a human hand and then fitted the mechanics around it. It can perform 14 different grips and positions.
The artificial hand weighs less than 400 grams and can bear the weight of 45 kilograms. Most of the weight of the hand has been distributed around the wrist to give it a natural feel. The hand has sensors that pick up the user’s muscle movements and then send this information to individual finger motors and microprocessors that continuously monitor finger position. It also features an auto grip function that automatically detects when something is about to slip and tweaks the grip to make sure it doesn’t drop.
