Now that the entry deadline has passed and the semifinalists for the 2015 Hackaday Prize have been announced, one of the semifinalists was clearly a no brainer. If the bionic hand from OpenBionics doesn’t fit the criteria of building the future then I don’t know what would. This year we’ve seen plenty of wonderful stories about 3D printed hand prosthetics being made available to thousands of people who desperately need them. While these prosthetic hands have limited grip and movement options, unfortunately true bionics are still virtually unaffordable. Traditional, motorized prosthetic limbs can cost tens of thousands of dollars and often are not covered by insurance, placing them far beyond the financial capabilities of most people. But what if there was a bionic prosthetic hand that would only cost about $200 to make, how many people all over the world could a product like that help?
The OpenBionics prosthetic hand is the result of an open-source initiative to create an affordable, lightweight robotic hand that is easy to put together and reproduce using 3D printing and other rapid prototyping technologies. The project has produced an impressive fully anthropomorphic prosthetic hand weighing less than 300 grams and costs less than $200 to build. It uses a selection of 3D printed parts and components that can easily be sourced from a local hardware store. And as an open source project, anyone can download the 3D files and assembly plans from OpenBionics’ GitHub repository and customize them to suit their own needs and personal aesthetics.
Here is a video with more information about the OpenBionics prosthetic hand:
While the odds of placing in the list of top winners is pretty high for OpenBionics, they have a lot of first class competition. Some of the standouts are Project Icarus, a solar powered UAV that can help prevent poaching, a Smart Dew-Point Water Harvester, a soft orthotic exoskeleton called the Neucuff and even a fellow low-cost prosthetic hand called the Biohand. Check out all of the entries for the 2015 Hackaday Prize here and the list of selected semifinalists here. And you can find out more about the OpenBionics initiative or download the 3D files and assembly instructions over on their website.
Let’s hear your thoughts on OpenBioics in the Hackaday Prize forum thread on 3DPB.com.