People with muscular defects hardly have energy to lift their arms, but with an ingenious and light system that uses two springs, it will soon be possible.
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“To have as natural a hand or arm prostheses as possible, that is what I was thinking of during my thesis,” says Just Herder, of the Human-Machine Systems department. “Like one which ultimately becomes like your own arm or hand. Herder has recently graduated cum laude for his theory and design of statically balanced spring mechanisms. We see these mechanisms every day, but they are so normal we do not ‘see’ them anymore, like the lamp on your desk. Or the hood of your car; you can easily lift this huge plate of steel thanks to the smart spreading of potential energy. “The application and possibilities of these mechanisms for rehabilitation engineering are the real motivation for this research, however.” Herder says.
Children
His office is filled with all sorts of frills, or at least that’s what it looks like at first sight. A closer look reveals that the frills are actually little constructions with weights and springs. For example, two fingers serve as a model for a real hand. In the palm of the hand is a spring which connects the forefinger with the thumb and another one. “The springs are always in equilibrium. When the hand opens, one spring stretches and the other one relaxes, exchanging the energy. In this way a person hardly has to expend any energy to move his fingers. A little push and the prostheses works by itself. Even children are able to do everything with the this hand.”
The balanced systems Herder worked on seemed to be a perfect solution for getting rid of weights. “Current prostheses work by means of an electric motor. All day long the patient must lug around day an battery and the relative heavy motor, which all together weigh about half a kilo, and the patient doesn’t even use the hand that much, because patients are used to not using their handicapped hand, so automatically use their good arm or hand.”
Arm support for people with muscular defects is another example of a statistically balanced system that Herder and his students worked on.
Robot
Hanging on Herders cupboard is a balanced elbow support, a very advanced model. In January 2002, a company will begin manufacturing this object. Perhaps Herders designs and theories will find another industry. “Welding robots use lots of energy to weld, also when the are in resting, because their welding arm has to be held up. A simple construction like the arm support skirts this problem and saves a lot of energy. It doesn’t matter if it’s about robots or people, lifting weight is the stupidest you can do.”
People with muscular defects hardly have energy to lift their arms, but with an ingenious and light system that uses two springs, it will soon be possible.
“To have as natural a hand or arm prostheses as possible, that is what I was thinking of during my thesis,” says Just Herder, of the Human-Machine Systems department. “Like one which ultimately becomes like your own arm or hand. Herder has recently graduated cum laude for his theory and design of statically balanced spring mechanisms. We see these mechanisms every day, but they are so normal we do not ‘see’ them anymore, like the lamp on your desk. Or the hood of your car; you can easily lift this huge plate of steel thanks to the smart spreading of potential energy. “The application and possibilities of these mechanisms for rehabilitation engineering are the real motivation for this research, however.” Herder says.
Children
His office is filled with all sorts of frills, or at least that’s what it looks like at first sight. A closer look reveals that the frills are actually little constructions with weights and springs. For example, two fingers serve as a model for a real hand. In the palm of the hand is a spring which connects the forefinger with the thumb and another one. “The springs are always in equilibrium. When the hand opens, one spring stretches and the other one relaxes, exchanging the energy. In this way a person hardly has to expend any energy to move his fingers. A little push and the prostheses works by itself. Even children are able to do everything with the this hand.”
The balanced systems Herder worked on seemed to be a perfect solution for getting rid of weights. “Current prostheses work by means of an electric motor. All day long the patient must lug around day an battery and the relative heavy motor, which all together weigh about half a kilo, and the patient doesn’t even use the hand that much, because patients are used to not using their handicapped hand, so automatically use their good arm or hand.”
Arm support for people with muscular defects is another example of a statistically balanced system that Herder and his students worked on.
Robot
Hanging on Herders cupboard is a balanced elbow support, a very advanced model. In January 2002, a company will begin manufacturing this object. Perhaps Herders designs and theories will find another industry. “Welding robots use lots of energy to weld, also when the are in resting, because their welding arm has to be held up. A simple construction like the arm support skirts this problem and saves a lot of energy. It doesn’t matter if it’s about robots or people, lifting weight is the stupidest you can do.”
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