UKZN Advances Prosthetics Research

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A team from UKZN recently took to the international stage as part of the Cybathlon, a global contest that promotes ingenuity and advancement of assistive technologies.

UKZN’s Touch Hand - a low-cost arm prosthesis that empowers amputees with the ability to do regular household tasks, was entered in the Cybathlon - regarded as the Olympics of prosthetics devices.

Once the robotic arm is attached to the pilot, it is able to pick up signals from the user’s muscles and feed them into the device’s computers.

The computers are able to decode EMG (electromyography) electrodes, which is electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles of the pilot, and instructions are sent to the fingers for the execution of various hand gestures.

Power for the device is drawn from attached USB power banks.

A total of 76 teams from around the world participated from 25-27 October in the event organised by Swiss public research university ETHZürich; either in person in Switzerland, or virtually from regional hubs.

Advancing research in the field of assistive technology, producing prosthesis and promoting inclusion of people with disabilities in everyday life is the aim of the programme.

UKZN’s participation was supported by the Robotics Association of South Africa and the local Swiss Embassy.

Other categories of the competition included: brain-computer interface; functional electrical stimulation; leg prosthesis, wheelchair and assistance robot.

Words: Mervyn Naidoo (courtesy Independent Media)

Photograph: Andile Ndlovu