Wow. Thank you all so much for the awards, upvotes, and kind words!
Was not expecting this!
Wow. Thank you all so much for the awards, upvotes, and kind words!
Was not expecting this!
You are the future of Night City 🙏
you know night city is supposed to be a bad thing right
It's a free world. It's supposed to be bad but he can make it into whatever he wants.
*Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack plays
Wake the fuck Up Samurai, we have some hands to build.
🤖🙌😁
Are these for Prosthetic purposes? Give us more details. And what got you into building these?
They are for prosthetic purposes. These are myoelectric prosthesis for transradial amputees and those with congenital limb differences.
And jeez… that’s a bit of a story, but I’ll try to summarize.
I got a little obsessed in college (2018) after learning about a Johns Hopkins led bionic arm project that DARPA funded. The costs of these devices blew my mind so I began researching how I might make them more affordable. Started reading one research paper (and article) after another until I had a top-to-bottom understanding of these devices. I put it all together my senior year with the help of some very intelligent friends / teammates and presented it at our university’s technology symposium / competition. We successfully developed an A.I. enhanced myoelectric hand for $600 and got second place.
A few weeks after the symposium, Army Ranger, Ryan Davis (lost his arm above the elbow, and his legs at various heights in Afghanistan) successfully tested the device and asked me “what’s next?”.
I started Alt-Bionics in June 2020, successfully raised $300,000 after about a year from that date, and have been working with a new (and absolutely incredible) team to develop highly accessible (affordable) bionic prosthetic devices.
My hat and shoes off to you ripperdoc..... keep on giving those who lost something in life back to them. Nothing but respect and admiration to you bud. Can I ask is there levels of future proofing these for durability or high grade materials as standard?.
Well. One of my favorite features of our hand is that it is entirely modular.
We use a characteristically superior material for the build, but in the unlikely event that any of the fingers undergo damage, the hand will come with 4 additional finger modules that can be swapped out by the end user or their clinician. We also designed it so that the repair can be completed with one hand.
Doing my best to make sure these devices are robust and that they solve a lot of problems people are currently having with alternatives.
Man I wish u did outer shell hand covers like gloves I would honestly buy all different versions u could push out 😁
stops sawing hand off to get cool sci-fi hand
"yeah that'd be cool!"
Ikr I'm with you on this totally
One ~~blizzard-activision~~ Microsoft investment later
"Purchase a real life damascus skin for your Alt-Bionics Model X!"
Or maybe D-brand would make a skin for it.
Awesome work!
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Wish I had a worst comment ever written award to give
"I like you so much I would forcibly take you away from your work to be used as a glorified basting tube"
Glad you ain't a dictator.
Fucking cringe, dude.
Have you ever thought of creating an extra pair of prosthetic arms Dr Octopus-style. As much as it’s a comic book nerds dream, there’s a lot of practical applications for such, but I personally want them for my comic book nerd dreams.
So how much would a set of Mecha Shiva arms set me back? (Four arms, and I’d probably have to find a way to animate them with my traps or lats so no fine motor function at the fingers, just two prong claws)
Do you offer some cool cyberpunkish features?
Nfc Finger, or a little flash drive comes to mind
That's incredible stuff! You rock!
I put it all together my senior year with the help of some very intelligent friends / teammates and presented it at our university’s technology symposium / competition. We successfully developed an A.I. enhanced myoelectric hand for $600 and got second place.
You reduced the cost from hundreds of thousands to merely hundreds and only got second place?!
What came first? Viable lightspeed flight?
If existing competitors are indeed hundreds of thousands, it's probably not due to parts cost.
Medical devices have huge markups due in part to the R&D and compliance costs, but also in large part due to extortion.
If you lost your hand, you'd probably pay whatever you could to get it back right?
In cyberpunk terms, that's the difference between getting an Arasaki E-70X series cyber arm with lifetime support, and getting an aftermarket parts installed in an underground ripperdoc shop in kabuki.
Hahaha I was asking myself the same question. That, or 1st place made some hefty bribes to the judges!
This has to be one of the coolest stories I have read on Reddit. Super cool and inspiring story you have there, good luck with your business! Hope we see them everywhere soon. Now I want to build one with my 3D printer and Arduino! Any tips of good places for learning resources for robotics?
That is so altruistic I don't have the words. More power to you man. With all my heart. Thank you for your graft.
Ages ago, I really wanted to get into prosthetics and was at a point in my education where I could have shifted over to it super easily. So I went and shadowed a few places near me that worked with amputees.
The amount of money they just flagrantly try to wring from their customers... It was enough to scare me off entirely. I remember one nurse telling me they had some cool prototypes from a local place. It was for legs, and it would adjust the limb in the socket if it felt like the limb wasn't resting properly. Doc didn't want to use it because it would keep people out of the office.
I totally chickened out and said I wouldn't be able to change anything, the field is too corrupt for me, etc. But you saw a problem with the field and totally went in and fixed it.
You're awesome. Thanks for doing what you do.
Your view of prosthetics industry is what I think of the world in general. Especially in 2022.
Man, I gotta say. It's kind of nuts that you were only able to get $300K while NFT bros are shelling out millions on NFT rug pulls.
Haha. Yeah… Well if any big NFT / crypto winners out there are feeling gracious we are accepting all crypto donations!
What about investments?
Always looking for accredited investors!
What about sketchy alt-coin investments?
I wish I had that amount of determination to just go “hey I can make this better” and fucking do it. Dawg you are an inspiration.
Very neat work. How does one get into this? I have a background ranging from auto work to military grade electrical component assemblies, model engineering, breadboarding. Currently doing systems administration, but I'd love to get back into finite work like this minus the military hardware aspect, actually helping people.
Wish you the best of luck for your company, you fantastic bastard! Your story is inspiring!
Have you considered developing bionic devices for people without disabilities? Like bionic enhancements ala cyberpunk?
i think recreational purposes can wait until the people with disabilities can be figured out
That's an amazing story! Congratulations on making your dreams a reality. What did you go to school for?
I admire your goals and success so far but I found myself wondering what the hell stole first place from you at the tech symposium :p
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SAME BRO
Do the prosthetics make the SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN "doot-dooot-doot-doot!" sound when they are active?
Other than the fact that you're becoming an actual ripperdoc and that this shit is awesome what's most astounding to me is the fact that you just did it. You didn't have any excuses, or thought that you first need to do x to start working on this stuff, you just went "yeah I'll do it" and did it. Kudos man
What exactly did you go to school for and how did you get into it?
If you don't mind a small question about this: I studied electronics in high school everything new we made, even simple things, required hours of troubleshooting the first prototypes. How did you test that your (I'm guessing intramuscular) myoelectric sensors worked correctly with your prototype? Did you simulate those inputs directly and trusted that the real life amputee would give a signal similar enough or did you actually have an amputee available for testing that was willing to have you poke some holes in their arm to test it for weeks?
This is insanely cool stuff.
How many prostheses have you rolled out? What is the average lifespan of these devices, assuming they are battery powered for some functions?
Can the receivers of these tinker with them (should they be technically minded) for say, ridiculous grip strength or flip the fingers around?
The designs here don't look like they would be heavy-duty industrial use, but that's something to look into too! Exoskeleton-type stuff!
How can someone get into doing what you're doing? I mean I'm just a lowly corpo coder with a 3d printer anda can do attitude, but this truly looks like an amazing job!
That is just incredible. I'm curious, if you got 2nd place what the hell managed to snatch 1st?
That is amazing
You are without a doubt one of the coolest redditors on this site.
Keep on keepin on, man!
Bad ass dude. Love this story and how you use it to help others.
I read an article about you not long ago. Keep up the great work!
You are a very cool human being. Hope you have a good day :)
I'ml add a question or two: how mong have you been mqking these hands, and how mobile would they get if you put servos in them?
I’ve been researching and experimenting with Myoelectric hands for a little over 4 years, but our engineers and I built what you see in this image, from scratch, in less than 1 year. Hopefully I get to do this for a long while yet.
There are 4 servo motors in the hand. They can be seen in the image with flexible PCB cables (orange strip) coming out of them. All of the wires in this image are not present in the commercial version, so it is very mobile!
Bonus note: If you zoom on the image you can see markings on each piece of the hand. Those are the Mk #s or iteration #s.
Are they able to interact with touchscreens?
Not yet. I’ve been pretty focused on integrating force feedback sensors into the fingertips so I put the conductive aspect on hold until this is perfected.
We use a urethane rubber for the synthetic skin though, so I’m pretty sure if I mix in a non-disruptive amount of carbon black (conductive) into the urethane before it cures, I can achieve it. Just gotta figure out how to not short the force sensor leads when doing this…
Unfortunately that’s probably not likely to work well. In my experience with graphite powder being added to very insulating materials like resin in amounts up to 10% by mass, the resulting product is still very insulating. The particles are just completely encapsulated in the medium and so cannot transmit charge between islands of conductor. A commercially available conductive coating will likely be a better choice.
Regarding the force sensor leads, what exactly are you doing? Do you just need an extremely fine wire, and have you been using an uninsulated set of wires since they are thinner? If so, look up “magnet wire.” It is enamel coated wire that achieves powerful insulation with an extremely thin form factor. You can get fully insulated copper magnet wire that is less than 0.1 mm in total thickness.
Well that’s unfortunate to hear. Very helpful though. Will test costing first once we get to that point in R&D. Any other options to make the fingertip conductive?
Regarding the force sensors. We use a small force transducer that is embedded underneath the urethane “skin” in the fingertips. We have to custom solder the leads and carefully route them back behind the 4 bar linkage system that actuates the fingers, and into the palm of the hand. The small form factor would be helpful, but my fear here would be that they would be very delicate. These wires will be subject to slight, but constant, pushing and pulling since the flexion of the finger will inevitably drag the wire. additionally, these wires will often cross when they are being routed down through the fingers so I would also worry about the enamel rubbing off and shorting them out.
Would love to talk more about this with you :)
Something more effective than graphite might be “micro bristles”. You know the tiny particulates that come off of steel wool? They’re very long in relation to their volume. Graphite is on the order of microns, whereas with micro bristles you could get circa a millimeter in total length. The benefit to this would be that if there’s even a single overlap over the course of a millimeter, there will be conduction along the whole path. Whereas graphite would need thousands of overlaps. A much less likely event.
So you could try finding the absolute finest copper wool available and joozhing it around to get particulates. Or you could order some very very fine copper wire and put that in a blender to create micro bristles. Be sure to wear proper respiratory and eye protection for this. Then add these bristles to your rubber. They should be fine enough that the surface still is flexible and not irritating. You don’t want to accidentally make a stiffer composite.
Magnet wire enamel is, fortunately, available in extremely durable formats. For the current levels you require it’s likely that a steel or nickel wire would be conductive enough and provide superior strength to copper. I’m not exactly sure what the demands on the wire will be from your description so I can’t be too helpful here.
By the way, do you own a resin printer? For a couple hundred bucks you can be printing flexible rubbery resin with 35 micrometer accuracy. You may even be able to mix the copper micro bristles into the resin as it prints. I’ve done this successfully with fiberglass and cf so there’s no reason it won’t work with sufficiently fine and dilute copper.
Do you know the conductivity of your materials? It may still be worth a shot with graphite if it’s relatively high.
I'll say it's a cyberpunk dream. One day an ex-lover turned corporate stooge is going to ask you to build them a hand from a design you've never seen the likes of, all in exchange for a microchip that will erase your criminal record when plugged into the Net.
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It’s just a journal haha. The art is from some of Tesla’s patent drawings.
I keep most of my notes on the bionic hand inside though, so hopefully one day it will be a book!
haha man that's neat. what's the storage box with the light? anyways, big ups.
Some very cheap storage box from Amazon with a makeshift LED strip driven by a SEEDuino XIAO resting on top of two screws I drilled into the box, because my room is too dark.
Do you have a YT channel or anything else hosting videos of you making these? Would love to see WIP videos, not even tutorials, just you getting lost in your work would be hours of entertaining content IMO.
My TikTok is @Pandabionics most of my videos are silly, but I throw in the educational one every now and then.
I live stream on there whenever I’m building the next prototype iteration. I appreciate the support… I thought this post was just going to die. My fellow cyberpunks came through weeps with joy
Ты делаешь очень важное дело. Спасибо и пусть удача всегда будет с тобой.
Translation because I was curious:
You are doing a very important thing. Thank you and may fortune always be with you.
Amazing and fantastic. Do you have a youtube channel or anything like that where you talk about your work?
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Teckman!
This is possibly one of the best posts I've stumbled across on Reddit, props to you man.
How do you find clients? I have long wanted to help in custom prosthetic design but I'm not sure where to find people in need and how to approach them with tact.
Gives a whole new meaning to catch these hands lol
Hey Pandaryan, how does one break into this industry? I'm currently handling some college and working in multiple machine shops and want to do some good for the world. Do you have any organizations or programs and certifications you could recommend I go after? I'm located in Chicago if that's any help.
Amazing. It's people like you man who give me hope in this world. Don't know you but I'm proud of you bro .
How does one get into the building bionic hands world
Oh hey i know you
Hey Doc, you got any new chrome for me?
This is one of the best ~~posts~~ uses of a human’s time I’ve seen.
Thank you for making a life changing thing so accessible AND reparable!
i hope one day we can buy these like we buy cars or houses
One of my friends lost his right hand in Afghanistan, he's now a computer technician and he's learning to play piano thanks to the biomechanical prosthesis he received. I don't know if anyone ever told you but were really appreciative of your hard work, dedication and ingenuity.
Nice, do you use open source equipment like arduinos and raspberry pis for finished products or custom made chips and boards?
I don't know such stuff. I just do hands!
This is fucking rad and something I would totally be down to be involved in. Going back to college for bachelors in mechanic engineering after getting an associates in electrical and engineering tech and hating it.
Electrical engineering is the wrong engineering field that doesn't get you into this industry, i suppose?
I know Prosthetics are bioengineering, and I'd imagine it's more electrical than mechanical. Mechanically, it's pretty much some hinges in the shape of a hand, but electrically I'd imagine it's way more complicated than that.
I'm kinda confused where should i apply. Have you experienced a similar situation?
No, I've got no idea, I'm just stating it's likely an electronics heavy industry. I don't have any clue how or where you would apply for stuff like this
Welp, guess I'll have to ask someone else. Thx for answering anyways!
This is something I want to do, build bionic limbs, but I am not sure though.
Edit; where did you buy the strain gauge?
You are also living my dream that I hope will be able to one day live myself
How does one learn to do this incredible work?
Hey! You are doing amazing work. It’s truly inspiring to learn about other people’s ambitions to make the world a better place. I am curious though. What did you graduate in?
Electrical Engineering!
What kind of grip strength are you able to achieve with these? I met a man with two prosthetic arms a few years back. One of his few complaints was that he couldn't pull open stiff doors - sometimes including bathroom doors - because the grip strength he could bring to bear was so light.
That looks really cool. If you dont mind me asking, what did you major in, in order to learn how to make bionic hands?
Electrical Engineering! Mechanical engineering helps a lot too.
I see, thanks for the answer!
Can it break fingers like Robocop's hand? 👀
That's incredible!
Question: I understand that for some people who need prosthetics, there was a preference for them to 'blend in,' that is, to look skin colored, and try to appear more like a real limb. Would you happen to know if this trend is changing over time? is the idea that a prosthetic limb that looks less like a hand / arm trying to blend in becoming more of an accepted idea?
From what I’m hearing around the space, yes. But there is still a ways to go before it becomes the norm.
Our hands can either be standard grey, or a customized color of the end user’s choosing. You can actually have customized designs “tattooed” onto the hand as well during manufacture.
Speaking as someone with limited mobility thank you for all you do. People like you give me hope that despite all the hate and chaos kindness and compassion will always come through in the end.
I want to work for you.
How does one end up as an irl ripper doc?
My girlfriend is a biomedical engineer that wants to do this. Any advice or guide for entering the field?
I beg to differ...
You ARE the dream.
Awesome work.
I love this and the fact that you do that. Take my updoot.
Prosthetics or just for fun bud?.
Say... are there any electric sheep in it? Just a curiosity ;)
If i was any good at soldering, i'd do something like this.
🤟👍
Look awesome!
I'm glad I'm not the only one with a few NeoPixels just ... there on their bench ... and jankily wired in somewhere because they look cool. 😁
Haha. I definitely do love the way they look, but they are actually being used here to test visual feedback from force sensors embedded in the fingertips. They will light up from green, to yellow, to red, based on how hard the sensors are being pressed down on by an object!
That's awesome! I was just about to post a comment asking what the neopixel was for.
Groovy.
You're a real life ripper doc. That's awesome!
Automatic Jack right there
Where are you based at? And do you have any apprenticeship programs?
Got that CSI Miami lab lighting, I see
whatever job i end up having it will never be this cool
If you retook this photograph with a couple of cybernetic hands staged at the bottom holding tools, it would be gallery worthy.
As someone who makes prosthetics like this how do you feel about people replacing perfectly functional limbs for a myoelectric prosthetic
You an actual RipperDoc technician
Damn Unreal Engine 5 looking real nice
This is the coolest fucking thing I've seen this year
in college for this exact life..i want it
I'm not trying to gatekeep but THIS is cyberpunk to me. Well done and godspeed. That is so cool. I hope you find great satisfaction in your work.
You turn particles into waves. Cool.
I’ve always been interested in engineering prosthetic limbs. I want to work on the version that is stronger than an average human hand.
Coolest thing I've seen today. Keep up the good work! 🖖
The best Tech in Night City 😊
Are these articulated to the point that a person could use for sign language and finger spelling? Amazing work. :)
That's fucking cool dude!
You are basically a ripperdoc, that's pretty awesome 😎
Could I use one of these if I still had two hands?
And that's a real cyberpunk
You're not being sad/depressed/pessimistic. "ItS NOt cyBERPUnk". Looks badass my dude
So jelly
man that is cool as fuck
That is beyond cool, dude! Wishing you all the best!
You should really check out soft robotics, it could be the potential future for prosthesis
Astounding Job!, Is that one of the Servo motors up there on the background? Also, are these circular LED panels for some sort of blood sensor or are they only aesthetics?
I need some new chrome doc
I love this future
Yes that’s cyberpunk af mate
Is any of this open sourced? Would love to at least print the hand for display
RipperDocRyan