We have a request for Upper Limb Amputee Participants from a student for her Bachelor’s University project, to Design a Low-Cost, ‘Soft’, Robotic Hand Prosthesis.
These interviews will be:
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Relaxed and involve some creative thinking
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30 mins up to 2 hrs
I’m hoping to carry out interviews during the next two weeks.
If you are intrigued, please read on to find out more, then use this link to sign up (consent information included in the link):
About the Student
Hi there!
I am a MEng Product Design Engineering Student in my penultimate year of study. As a PDE student, I am aiming to create a functional yet joyful mechanical product, to enhance user experience in a specific setting. It is not my intention to create a medical device, but a practical tool for tasks and personal expression/interactions.
To design a meaningful product, I think it’s important to anchor the design to the requirements of the user. This study will hopefully provide insight into:
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Issues I have not yet considered
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Unidentified areas of opportunity
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Specific design requirements related to tasks, sports, hobbies, or age-relevant issues
About the Project
The title of the project is subject to change, as I would like the product to be shaped by its potential users. However, currently, the focus is on:
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Body-powered mechanical design
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Affordability
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Softness i.e. capable of handling delicate objects, soft to touch, gentle movements, nice to hold
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Identifying a specific area of use, :
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Operating small zippers on a winter-hill walk
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Holding a range of paintbrush sizes
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Improving confidence when interacting with others
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The Study
The study involves one-to-one interviews conducted over Zoom (or other media), and a short questionnaire that is currently being created. For the interviews, I am hoping to find participants open to discussing points, such as:
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Body-powered vs myoelectric (e.g. ‘Hero Arm’ by Open Bionics)
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Approach to tasks requiring dexterity/grip strength
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Their experiences with prosthetics
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Reasons for accepting/rejecting prosthetics
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How they would improve body-powered prosthetics for their needs
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How upper limb differences and prosthetics impact their interactions with others
However, I am open to discussing anything relevant to upper limb-prosthetics.
Thank you for your time and consideration,