Amplify: Hand Motion Amplification Device
MakeMIT, Feb. 2023
Hackathon Project
Control/ProductDesign/Electronics
Over 3 million people suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition causing tingling and numbness in the hands and arms that impairs daily activities. Our team includes someone who experiences this and cannot perform high-torque motions with their hand. In just 24 hours, we engineered a grasping system to restore function. The interface sleeve detects hand motions and actuates a robotic claw to grab, bend, and twist objects, offloading work from the tender wrist. This assistive device is a start to granting people with carpal tunnel more mobility and independence.
Award: Best Use of Sensors
Collaborators:
- Aileen Liao
- Andrew Woo
- Garrett Blosen
- Oliver Trevor
Result
Our team engineered a 3-DoF claw gripper with compact gear and motor mechanics to amplify the user's twisting, grabbing, and turning motions. It follows the user's gesture using sensors embedded in the glove, and computes motions through PID control. Throughout the design process, we focused on maintaining compact components to minimize weight and enhance portability, while providing robust and responsive control of the gripper's motions.
Force Amplification System at Work
Chord-inate: IoT-Enabled Self-Playing Guitar
MakeMIT, Feb. 2022
Hackathon Project
Control/ProductDesign/Electronics
The COVID-19 pandemic halted live music, so we created a solenoid-actuated IoT system to enable remote guitar playing. In just 24 hours, we developed hardware that straps onto any guitar and links it to a website. This allows individual users to access and play a guitar remotely. It also provides a way for multiple users to play music together virtually.
Award: First Place
Collaborators:
- Aileen Liao
- Garrett Blosen
- Gregory Pylyvoch
- Oliver Trevor
Demo: Song Uploaded through Webpage