VOL. 16, NO.

4, FEBRUARY 2021 ISSN 1819-6608

ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences
©2006-2021 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.

www.arpnjournals.com

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A ROBOTIC HAND

PROSTHESIS UNDER THE TENSEGRITY APPROACH
FOR TRANSRADIAL AMPUTEES
Miguel Ángel Tovar Cardozo1, Ruthber Rodriguez Serrezuela2, Jorge Luis Aroca Trujillo2,
Roberto Sagaro Zamora3 and Enrique Marañón Reyes4
1Faculty of Business Administration, Corporación Universitaria Minuto de Dios UNIMINUTO, Colombia
2Industrial Engineer, University Corporation of Huila - Corhuila, Neiva, Republic of Colombia
3Facultad de Ingenieria Mecánica e Industrial, Universidad de Oriente, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
4Facultad de Ingenieria en Telecomunicaciones Informática y Biomedica, Universidad de Oriente, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba

E-Mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
The prosthesis of hands in some of the cases allow to reach the same functionality that has a real hand. For this
reason, in the development of this document we present a functional hand and forearm prosthesis, which allows providing
a replacement option to those who, due to lack of development of this part of the body or an amputation, do not have this
limb. To design this prototype, first some calculations of forces and torques that the proposed system can support are made.
Then, with the support of a model designed in the software of Autodesk, simulations are found in which the design is
subjected to external forces, giving as results the forces, deformations, tensions, among others, to which the prototype can
operate.

Keywords: prosthesis, hands, tensions, forces, model.

1. INTRODUCTION Finally, simulations of the proposed model are

The use of prosthesis aims at replacing the lack of developed, and the results, analysis and conclusions of the
an organ or a member either total or partial. In other research are shown.
words, the prosthesis has to accomplish a similar function,
which the missing part should develop. This is the reason 2. THEORETICAL BASES
why, for years, humans have sought how to solve the The set of elements that make up a hand are the
limitations caused by the amputations, the problems that bones divided into phalanges, metacarpal and carpal bones
bring different diseases or the non-development of the part constituting in all twenty-seven (27). Likewise, thirty-two
of the body. Such is the case of the hands of steel that (32) muscles that act as actuators of the same constitute it.
were used by Götz Von Berlichingen (1504 A.D.), The hand is also irrigated by a number of blood vessels in
Capua’s (300 B.C.) bronze leg, the toe found in an which the blood is exchanged from the veins to the arteries
Egyptian mummy (between 1069 B.C. to 664 B.C.), and collecting innumerable signals from the millions of
the prosthesis used after War World I and II, the conflict nanoreceptors that it possesses.
in Vietnam, Iraq, among others [1]. In the case of A machine is defined as the set of various bodies
Colombia, the total or partial loss or absenceso fan upper that are interwoven in some way allowing the transmission
limb can be caused not only by diseases, accidents or an or production of work "Its purpose is the study of the laws
incorrect development of the body, but also by problems that regulate the movements of the various parts, members
of armed conflict. and organs of machines and the forces that these elements
This research is one solution to the need for transmit"[2]. Currently, the concept of mechanism refers
replacing the missing hand, using the forearm for the to the ability to transmit different forces or moments as a
assembly of the engines and the part of the treatment of combustion engine, as an example.
the bioseñeles for the patient, i.e. transradial amputations.
To this end, this document is divided into the A. Prosthesis Structure
following parts: the first will be an introduction of the The structure of the proposed prosthesis is
basic required information, such as mechanisms, degrees composed by mechanical parts and an electronic system
of freedom, functions of the hand, prosthesis, amputation where the electronic system has as a function, to control
and anatomy of the hand. the movements of the mechanical parts. Some basic
Once some concepts have been defined, some components that make up the structure are:
mathematical analysis of forces and torques that can occur Mechanical structure: the under-robotic
in the cinematic of the limb movement will be carried out. prosthesis is composed of links that represent the
Along with this, a prototype of the system with phalanges of the hand, interconnected by rotational joints.
computational tools as CAD/CAE is designed. It will The number of movements that each joint can make
define the elements that should make up the fingers, the related to the immediately preceding link is known as
palm, and the forearm. degrees of freedom (DOF). For the case of the hand, each
joint has a degree of freedom and the sum of these

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represents the total amount of degrees of freedom that the well as the proximal and middle joints. In the phalangeal
hand has. metacarpal joints, there are 2 DOF that perform the
Actuators: They are devices in charge of flexion-extension and abductor-adductor movements. The
transforming electrical energy into force or torque, in latter has a low rotation, compared to the other joints.
order to generate movements in the prosthesis of the hand. For the correct functioning, a human hand must
Hands functions: Some of the functions that the have around 32 muscles in charge of making movements
hands possess are those of holding or grasping objects, that imply pressure, flexion, and extension, among others.
endowing the brain with information of the environment Considering that most contraction and extension
through the touch and generating a language of movements are generated through tendons, the Tensegrity
communication. Among the main types of grip that have mechanism is implemented. This refers to the use of
been implemented for hand prostheses are: pliers grip, cables (tendons) that are joined together through a network
cylindrical grip, hook grip. of tensioners and can generate a movement. This
Types of prosthesis: There are mechanical, mechanism has characteristics such as lightness and
electrical, pneumatic, hybrid and cosmetic prostheses, precision [4].
where the latter one only does a function that would be the
esthetic aspect. When a prosthesis is constructed with 3. RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT
moving parts, it requires a source of energy to generate the We start from the analysis of forces that can be
force or torque, a transmission system, a control system present. For this, we analyse the force exerted by the
and a fastening device. combination of the muscles present in the hand.
Levels of amputation: The levels of amputation
of upper extremities are presented as follow:

▪ Intercross-thoracic or clavicle amputation.

▪ Disarticulation of the shoulder.

▪ Transhumeral amputation or above the elbow.

▪ Elbow disarticulation.

▪ Transradial or below-elbow amputation.

Figure-2. Behavior of the forces in combination of the
▪ Disarticulation of the hand and wrist. biceps and forearm.

▪ Transcarpal or partial hand amputation. It is required to know the value of the tension (T).
The value of the variables of the muscular Force (F_m)
▪ Amputation of fingers. and Contact Force (F_c). These were found from the
average of the forces given by Álvarez Diego et al. [4],
which takes the values F_m = 116,540 kgf and F_c =
100,120kgf.

𝑇 = 𝐹𝑚 − 𝐹𝑐 (1)

Thus, T = 116,540 kgf-100,120kgf T = 16,420kgf

Represented in the SI, you have the following: T =

161.020N

The strength of the biceps and forearm must be

transmitted to a sheet, which in turn is distributed on each
finger of the prosthesis. This is related to the distance, the
difference in length that is had when extending or
contracting the hand. According to studies by Camilo
Rodríguez et al. [5] the maximum variation of the length
Figure-1. Levels of upper limb amputation [3]. in most prostheses is 50mm.

Kinematics of the hand: For the development of Therefore,

the prosthesis, the degrees of freedom that make up the
human hand must be analyzed. The wrist has 2 DOF. The F_t = T * Δx (2)
rotational joints between middle and distal is 1 DOF, as

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ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences
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Where; Δx = Longitudinal change Δx = F / (K) = 3,691N / (1,073,460 N / m)

Δx = 0.00343841m
Ft = Transmitted force
In short, if a force of 3.691N is applied, the
T = Stress Δx = (50mm * 1m)/(1000mm) = 0.050m spring will have an elongation of 3.430mm.

F_t = 161.020N * 0.05m 5. LEVEL CALCULATION OF FIRST ORDER

To determine the force that the arm must exert on
F_t = 8,051Nm the prosthesis, when you have a grabbed object, it must be
assumed that the system is in equilibrium:
With the previous result, it can be assumed that
this is the pair transmitted to the sheet, which will be F * B_f = F_r * B_fr (5)
distributed equally by the five (5) nylon threads, based on
the Tensegrity approach. In order to have: F_d = F_t / N Where;
(3)
F: Applied force.
Where; Bf = 0.070m: Strength arm length.
Fd = Strength of the fingers Fr = 3,691 N: Strength that exerts resistance.
N= Distribution number Bfr = 0.177m: Length resistance arm.
Ft = transmitted force

F_d = F_t / N = (8,051 Nm) / 5 = 1,61Nm

In this way, it is possible to find the torque-load

that must at least support each phalanx of the prosthesis
when contracting or compressing.

4. CALCULATION OF THE CONSTANT K

To determine the K value of the spring, the
Hooke equation will be used:

K = F / (Δx) (4)
Figure-3. Lever of 1st order of the prototype
Where, [Author´s source].
K= spring elasticity constant
F= Force applied to the spring It is cleared and the values are replaced:
Δx = Maximum spring elongation
F = (F_r * B_fr) / B_f = (3.69N * 0.177m) / 0.07m
The system will be designed with a maximum F = 9.35N
elongation of 5cm to ensure the correct operation of the
hand. Because of this, a spring that has a maximum In order to have the system in equilibrium, the
elongation of 15cm (0.150m) is chosen so that it is able to force that the arm must generate is 9.35 N.
ensure that the spring will not reach the maximum elastic
area in which, it is ensured that the spring will never 6. MECHANICAL DESIGN IN CAD
present a permanent deformation. Thus, A model was developed with tools such as CAD /
CAE, allowing designing each of the elements that make
K = F / (Δx) = (161,020 N) / 0,150m = 1073,460 N / m up the prosthesis of the hand. The ABS material is used
because it has the mechanical characteristics required in
Then, it is needed to calculate the displacement of the project and the resistance to the torque-load that was
the spring, with the weights provided by the design in the previously established. Resulting in the design presented
Inventor software. Given as a result that the weight of the in Figures 4, 5 and 6.
prototype is 0.176Kg and that of a Teflon cylinder is Although a human hand has three phalanges, this
0.200Kg. That is, the weight of the object plus the weight prototype is designed with a hand with only two
of the prototype (total weight) is equal to 0.376 kg. phalanges, the distal and the middle [6].

The given force is found in Newton:

0.376kg * 9.8m / s ^ 2 = 3.691N
With this information supplied and by means of
equation 4, we have that the spring will extend:

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ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences
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Figure-4. Distal phalanx [Author´s source].

Figure-6. Prototype of the hand [Author´s source].

For the design of the forearm, the shape of

coupling with the stump must be taken into account,
together with the space occupied by the mechanical and
electronic systems.

Figure-5. Middle phalanx [Author´s source].

Due to the complexity of designing a palm of the

hand that molds to the objects to be gripped, a rigid model
will be made. This has five holes, through which the
Carbon Nylon thread passes, are responsible for
performing the movements of the phalanges.

Figure-7. Forearm of the prototype [Author´s source].

First, a modeling of the phalanges has to be done,

as the fingers have three phalanges, this prototype will
have two, of which will be the distal and the bottom. Then,
the modeling of the palm of the hand is made which will
be hollow with a lid so that the prototype can be improved
later. A forearm is designed, which was decided to be U-
shaped because the prosthesis has a drawback and is has to

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ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences
©2006-2021 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.

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have the measures of the affected person or at least where

the stump is going to be placed. After having these pieces,
the sheets are made, where the Carbon Nylon threads are
distributed to the phalanges. Next, the spring to be used is
designed. Afterwards, the required screws are designed as
well as the bolts to carry out the assembling and test them
in simulations [7], [8].

7. RESULTS OF SIMULATION OF THE

PROTOTYPE
With the help of several simulations of
Autodesk's 3D Max software you will find the directions Figure-10. Displacement presented in the prototype due to
of the forces that are applied when holding an object, as an external force [Author’s source].
shown in figure 8.
There is a critical displacement in the lower part
of the forearm, this is understandable if considering that
this is not subject to the stump, and therefore it moves a
considerable distance.
Finally, Figure-11 shows the deformation that
may occur, which shows non-representative values and, on
the contrary, are negligible values.

Figure-8. Application of force on the prototype

[Author’s source].

Additionally, Von-mises voltages are found and

they determine stress and deformations in multiple
directions (three-dimensional).
Figure-11. Deformation presented in the prototype due to
an external force [Author’s source].

8. CONCLUSIONS
A functional prototype of prosthesis of the hand
and forearm with Tensegrity mechanism is presented.
Good simulated results are obtained through the
computational tool of Autodesk Inventor 2017.
The results of gripping tensions, deformations
and displacements to grasp an object of 200 grams provide
sufficient information to determine the viability of the
product with the ABS material, used for the design, as
Figure-9. Tensions exerted on the prototype well as the possible forces to which the carbon Nylon
[Author’s source]. cables will be subjected.
It is found that the proposed system of the
According to Figure-9, there are no anomalies of Tensegrity mechanism is feasible because, once the
stresses and deformations. Figure-10 shows the simulations are acquired; it is found that the prosthesis will
displacement of the prosthesis by an external force. not present any failure, as long as the parameters in the
present simulation are used.

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