Powered prosthetic arms typically rely on a series of motors, pulleys, and other mechanical contraptions to make them move. These can be heavy and introduce a lot of complexity to the system. Now engineers from Saarland University in Germany have created a bionic hand that doesn’t have any complex components, relying simply on nitinol wires activated by a current of electricity.
Nitinol, a nickel titanium alloy developed at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory, is a shape memory material that can bounce between two configurations depending on its temperature. By running a current through the metal, the wires can heat up and made to flex. The research team harnessed this property and built the wires into a plastic arm to work as tiny muscles that can tug and pull individual fingers to open and close.
More at Reuters: Bionic hand uses smart wires to mimic muscle fibers…