Gizmodo
*Warped voice through Tannoy system* Chut chut. Pay Luke Skywalker bolla Tatooine frumf ti pund, konchee er pinkosponto kapa. Luke Skywalker bolla Tatooine frumf ti pund, pay." Translated from Huttese into Galactic Basic, that reads: "Greetings. Could Luke Skywalker make his way to the Tatooine Lost & Found, where his prosthetic hand has been handed in. Luke Skywalker to Tatooine's Lost & Found, please."
Well, a girl can dream. But this prosthetic hand, inspired, I kid you not by spiders' legs, has scored highly in tests. Currently a prototype, Fluidhand is battery-powered, with five electric motors—one in each finger. Soren Wolf, an 18-year-old patient at Heidelberg University Hospital was the first person to try out the device, alongside the iLIMB, which, unlike the Fluidhand, is controlled using myoelectric signals from the stump of the arm.
The Fluidhand works on different principles, and its digits are based on the biological principle of the spider leg—elastic chambers in the joints are pumped up by miniature hydraulics, thus allowing flexibility. This allows each individual digit to be moved independently. Perhaps the most astonishing thing about the device is that it gives feedback to the stump, which allows the wearer to sense just how strong the grip is.
Of the two hands, Soren said that the Fluidhand just had the edge over the iLIMB. It is currently only a prototype, but the inventors are looking for investment. Maybe George Lucas would be interested. [UniversitatsKlinikum via MedGadget]
Comments
god, I hate to be the big geek here, but it's spelled "Tatooine"...
God, I hate having to be the big Star Wars fanboy wedgie dispenser here but... *YANK*...*RIP*!
@bspence
Thanks. Changed it.
e-chuta!
@BigDanInTX: How rude.
I really want to throw out a lord of rings reference and see "clerks 2" play out in the forums... naaay, it's too early for bloodshed.
@Darrone: "walk walk walk walk walk" "sam and frodo are gay" "walk walk walk"
They couldnt find a clean table anywhere to take this picture on?
Very cool prosthetic though. This will potentially impact of lot of folks, not the least of which are our brave young men and women losing limbs every day in combat. (Stay low and come home safe soon guys - we miss you.)
If I got one, I would wear it just as show.
So, do you think Luke Skywalker wore a fingerless glove in the summer? I mean, the laser blast was just on his palm, right?
@Curves: lmao! It is quite dirty, isn't it? ;-]
Reading that this is based on the biological principle of spider legs is really driving my curiosity, video please.
@GeekyNerdGuy: ummm...he had a fully replaced hand:
Check it out.
Fluidhand? Seriously? That's the name? And...
Perhaps the most astonishing thing about the device is that it gives feedback to the stump, which allows the wearer to sense just how strong the grip is
And when the grip is perfect, you end up with 'Fluidhand?'
@Munch: I get stump feedback when the grip is strong as well.
@SgtMac02: Yeah, but it got blasted. However, the synth-flesh had been damaged, and Luke took to wearing a black glove over his hand afterwards.
I may have to lop off my own hand!
Hmm. Seems geared for groping
Did anybody notice the LENGTH of that thumb? Was this prototype modeled on Sissy Hankshaw?
@bosskev:
If you take a close look at your hand you will probably see that the length of the thumb (all thumb parts, not just the exposed last two joints) is actually not too far off on the Fluidhand. Just picture Fluidhand with some fake meat on it and then add the useless little bit of webbing between thumb and index finger and voila!
@GeekyNerdGuy: Oh yea. Duh. Sorry for doubting you...
@SgtMac02: I find your lack of faith disturbing.
Yay! I have no left hand and someday this could come in handy. No pun intended.
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