Biomimetic Prosthetic Hand Enabled by Liquid Crystal Elastomer Tendons.

ABSTRACT: As one of the most important prosthetic implants for amputees, current commercially available prosthetic hands are still too bulky, heavy, expensive, complex and inefficient. Here, we present a study that utilizes the artificial tendon to drive the motion of fingers in a biomimetic prosthetic hand. The artificial tendon is realized by combining liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) and liquid metal (LM) heating element. A joule heating-induced temperature increase in the LCE tendon leads to linear contraction, which drives the fingers of the biomimetic prosthetic hand to bend in a way similar to the human hand. The responses of the LCE tendon to joule heating, including temperature increase, contraction strain and contraction stress, are characterized. The strategies of achieving a constant contr

SUBMITTER: Lu H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8306406 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature