AI robotic arm: Ukrainian bionic prosthetic arm has become one of the world’s leading innovations (video)
The prosthesis from the Ukrainian manufacturer was included in the list of the best inventions of mankind.
ShoTam talks about the development and its creators.
Artificial intelligence robotic armor
It is an artificial intelligence robotic arm that can be used to cook, do push-ups, or play board games. And it is controlled using an application on a smartphone.
“We customize each finger individually the way we need it – this is what it looks like,” says Olena Poznyakova, Quality Assurance Engineer at Esper Bionics.
And most importantly, our veterans can receive such prostheses free of charge. Dmytro Gazda is a physician by training and an entrepreneur who dreamed of creating the technologies of the future. It was an accident that led him to develop the prosthetic arm…
“One day, Facebook suggested a girl with an amputated arm as a mutual friend. And he recognized her, because many years ago he was an assistant at the surgery where this amputation took place. And then everything worked out for him, he had an insight,” says Dmytro Hanush, Marketing Director at Esper Bionics.
We founded a startup and started experimenting
In 2019, Dmytro and two partners founded a startup and began experimenting with arm models.
“It all started with a finger, creating a test model,” says Dmytro Hanush, Marketing Director at Esper Bionics. The main sales market was the United States.
And after 24.02, we also started working on prosthetics for defenders and scaled up production in Kyiv.
“We are probably the only ones so far who have managed to achieve the maximum resemblance of the hand to a human one. That is, even if we put a glove on it, it will be very difficult to distinguish it from a biological hand. Our hand is smart, in addition to being beautiful,” says Dmytro Hanush, Marketing Director at Esper Bionics.
The prosthesis has sensors that read and process muscle activity and signals from the brain and translate them into movements.
“The prosthesis consists of a stump receiver with sensors and power supplies, and the hand itself, which understands sensor signals and converts them into movements,” says Dmytro Hanush, marketing director at Esper Bionics.
Esper Bionics currently produces 15 hands per month. The base consists of aircraft aluminum and steel.
“This is actually where all Esper Hand production takes place. Most of the metal parts are made in this CNC machine, and there are almost 280 of them in Esper Hand – from large to very, very small. You can even see that one of the parts, which is the basis for the finger, is being tested right now,” says Dmytro Hanush, Marketing Director at Esper Bionics.
Olena has not had a right hand since birth. She works as a tester in the company and has been using a robotic arm for more than 2 years.
“I feel that now I don’t have to ask myself whether I can cope with a task, whether I can do something, whether I can carry two objects at the same time, whether I can hold it, whether I can do something now,” says Olena Poznyakova, Quality Assurance Engineer at Esper Bionics.
The prosthesis can be controlled in the app.
The prosthesis can be customized and controlled using an app on your smartphone.
“The first thing the user works with is the main screen, which has grips. The grips are customized individually to suit your preferences. Why is this necessary? In order to customize their convenient sequence, such as the grippers used in everyday life,” says Olena Poznyakova, Quality Assurance Engineer at Esper Bionics.
The arm can withstand up to 30 kg of weight, so some users can even do push-ups from the floor. You can adjust your hand to hold a writing pen or rounded objects, for example.
“We can customize the position of each finger separately. This is how it works: we set up an open and a closed position – the user can simply turn on the hand and use it with the help of signals,” says Elena Poznyakova, Quality Assurance Engineer at Esper Bionics.
Time included this prosthesis in the list of the world’s best inventions
In 2022, Time magazine included this prosthesis in the list of the world’s best inventions and put it on the cover. In the same year, Esper Bionics launched a prosthetics program for veterans.
“As part of Esper for Ukraine, we provide Ukrainians with our prostheses free of charge. We co-finance their production and installation with donors,” says Bogdan Diordica, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Esper Bionics.
To apply for a prosthetic arm, you need to fill out a form on the website. After that, the doctor contacts the applicant and finds out all the details. The market value of the prosthesis is $25,000, but they are made for veterans at cost. And the prosthetics are paid for by donors, whom the company often seeks out on its own.
“The informational and financial support we need is simply to spread the word about our program among those companies that, again, for some reason, cannot donate to drones, cars, weapons, but want to help Ukraine humanitarian,” said Bogdan Diordica, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Esper Bionics.
Esper Bionics plans to triple its production this year. After all, their main goal is to return as many veterans as possible to full life.
As a reminder, the Ministry of Social Policy has created a dashboard with a list of prosthetic companies.
We also told you how a Ukrainian soldier danced ballet on prostheses in California.
