Engineering
Swinging Prosthetic Elbow For my senior capstone project, I worked as a part of a seven person team to create a prosthetic elbow that could restore natural arm swing.
One of my major roles in this project was handling the electronics. This included component selection based on our specifications as well as ensuring the electronics could be assembled within the space constraints of the elbow. |
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I used Fritzing to easily rearrange components and find a compact layout. In addition to the motor that would enable movement, we were also asked to include a gyroscope/accelerometer for detecting gait and a current sensor to enable PID current control. In addition to the physical components, I also implemented a simple PID controller to demonstrate functionality by having the elbow follow a sinusoidal swing. |
Other important features of the elbow were its ability to lock so that it worked as similarly as possible to a regular prosthesis and its compatibility with existing prosthetic technology. These were particularly important because a major goal for our clients was having a prototype that they were able to use with real patients.
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