The engineers of the ARTS Lab, working at the Polo Sant’Anna Valdera of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa, have recently developed a new prototype, called SmartHand, which weighs only 520 g.

This prototype can be connected directly to the stump of an amputee, is sturdier and represents a considerable improvement both in terms of component miniaturization and tactile sensitivity.

Future steps to be taken will concern the development of a telemetry system that can be implanted inside the hand, clinical experimentation and engineering.

During the experimentation, the hand was operated by means of energy supplied by regular power supplies. In the future, rechargeable batteries will be used. This is still a laboratory prototype that requires a long phase of experimentation and engineering. With adequate funding, five to ten years from now it will be possible to implant a prototype of this hand in a human being.

The CyberHand prototype used during the experimentation cannot be connected to the amputee’s stump. However, it is expected for future versions of the biomechatronic hand (such as SmartHand) to be equipped with a coupling system that will allow the hand to be attached to standard depressions for myoelectric prostheses.

The engineers at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa have calculated that, at present, a total expenditure of approximately 20,000 euros is needed to build a replica of CyberHand, excluding the neural interface system.