Bold creativity without huge amounts of money 3D printing robot won the annual design award

According to recent reports from British media such as BBC, Joel Gilbert, 27, of Open Bionics, Bristol, UK, won the 2015 James Dyson Design Award for his prototype 3D printing robot.

Compared with the existing similar products, the design time of the robots designed by Gilbert is greatly shortened and the price is greatly reduced. By scanning the patient's amputation in 3D, a very lightweight robot can be made within 40 hours. The design was hailed by Dyson as “a step change in the development of the robot”.

From the bedroom business

In 2013, the 25-year-old Joel Gilbert, who just graduated from Plymouth University, had a strong desire to have young amputated patients with the robots they were proud of. To this end, he gave up the well-paid work and embarked on the road of developing 3D printing robots through crowdfunding.

Initially, he raised £44,000 from his family, friends, and some finger amputation patients, and was supported by the prestigious Bristol Robotics Lab, where he started designing the bedroom as an office. He told reporters who interviewed him: "After meeting professional chef Liam and 6-year-old girl Charlotte, this idea is more persistent. Liam needs a mechanical prosthetic hand to help him complete the daily routine of the kitchen. Work; Charlotte lost all her arms due to meningitis, but she did not see the existing prosthetic hands, thinking they were too ugly and too heavy."

In the design process, he also encountered many challenges, and revised the original design plan more than 10 times, and finally reduced the number of parts to four. He said that it was the constant encouragement of those who had helped him that he persevered in bringing the design to market.

Want to subvert the entire industry

The robot designed by Gilbert consists of four separate parts of 3D printing. The robot detects muscle movements through sensors that are attached to the user's skin, and then uses these muscle signals to control the grip of the hand. The user can control the opening and closing of the finger by contracting the muscle once, and contracting the muscle twice can make the robot perform the light grip. The user cannot specifically feel what the finger is touching, but when the sensor touches the object, it can be distinguished, thereby controlling the strength of the finger. This way, even if you hold a fragile item like an egg, it won't break it.

Using a small flat panel with a special sensor, Gilbert can make a comprehensive judgment on a user in a few minutes, then print out the various parts of the robot in 3D within 40 hours, and it takes two hours to succeed. Assemble a robot. His original design was mainly the use of plastic parts, which were bolted to other ready-made parts, which took a long time and was easy to break. The new design uses a thermoplastic elastomer with only four parts to print and a flexible joint. This means that the new robot can withstand greater impact forces and requires less assembly process, which saves cost and time and improves performance.

To date, Open Bionics has produced 10 robots and has received some orders. But Gilbert admits that design still has a lot of limitations. He said: "Compared with those high-end products, low-cost motors are currently used, so the overall strength is relatively low. We are testing the design through users and household items, and are trying to achieve a compromise solution - Consumers can afford it and have enough power to help people do most of what they want to do."

Gilbert’s plan was also funded by the US Disney Incubator’s Techstars Accelerator. Currently, Gilbert's design can only help patients who have lost their forearms, and the ultimate goal is to help all elbow amputation patients. Gilbert is willing to let amputees share and use their designs for free, but they want to share any suggestions for improvement in use.

Gilbert intends to create a company that specializes in selling custom robots in 2016 and set the ultimate goal of subverting the prosthetic industry by providing everyone with affordable robots.

Open industry milestones

The selection of the British James Dyson Design Award helped Gilbert's design become more widely recognized and had the opportunity to compete with the other 20 competitors for the 2015 International James Dyson Design Award. Ms. Barbara Jemek, the founding chairman of the UK International Rehabilitation Surgery and Training Foundation, believes that “normally functioning robots can have a major impact on those who are in urgent need, enabling them to work, take care of themselves and their families. It is worthy of congratulations on the practical process of promoting prosthetic repair devices. I will pay close attention to its future progress with great interest."

James Dyson said: "This shows that bold creativity does not require huge amounts of money, and if the technology is successful, it will improve the quality of life of amputated patients around the world." He also pointed out in a statement: "through rapid prototyping technology Gilbert has already started a step change in the development of the robot."

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