What's In A Touch? How Startup PSYONIC Revolutionized Prosthetics With The World's First Touch Sensing Ability Hand

Startup PSYONIC developed a bionic hand that can "feel" through multitouch feedback and give users a new way to experience their world. The U.S.-built Ability Hand offers a lightweight, fast and precise prosthetic hand.

Sensors in the hand's fingertips relay pressure information to the wearer through vibrations, enabling users to gauge the amount of force they're applying in various situations. They can use more pressure when performing tasks such as throwing a baseball and less when holding their child's hand or assembling a bowl of fruit. The enhanced pressure sensors also improve the user's dexterity — they can feel the texture and shape of the objects they touch with the Ability Hand. This is a breakthrough in bionic prosthetics because it gives users more control over their bionic hands and allows them to perform tasks more easily and naturally.

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Aadeel Akhtar, who holds a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, founded the company after seeing his father struggle to use a traditional bionic hand. One of the most important technologies Akhtar and his team developed is a new type of sensor that can detect multitouch feedback. The sensors embedded in the fingertips of the Ability Hand relay a sense of touch and pressure that enables them to better manipulate and experience their environments. 

The PSYONIC product also features an improved actuator that is more powerful and efficient than traditional actuators. This allows the Ability Hand to move with measured speed and precision, enabling users to control different objects and manage various situations with ease. 

The Ability Hand's movements rely on a combination of electromyography (EMG) sensors and artificial intelligence (AI). EMG sensors measure the electrical activity of the muscles in the limb. This information is used by the AI to control the movements of the bionic hand in a way that mimics a human hand's complex functions. 

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The Ability Hand offers other benefits to its users, including:

• It's lightweight and durable, making it easy to wear and use with less fatigue. 
• It has a long battery life, so users can operate the hand throughout the day with less worry about battery issues. 
• It's water resistant to allow users to feel more comfortable during inclement weather and while performing various tasks that use water. 
• It's available in a variety of sizes and colors to match the user's needs and preferences.
• Mobile connectivity through the PSYONIC app enables technicians to tune the Ability Hand to improve grip and functionality for every user. 

Researchers at leading universities and in the robotics field work with Ability Hand to develop new ways to improve the lives of people missing upper limbs. The hand's performance and lower cost than other bionic hands make it ideal for a variety of uses.

Organizations including NASA, Meta, Apptronik Inc., Sanctuary AI, TNO, Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab work with Ability Hand to explore its potential for transforming the prosthetics industry and the product's implications for the robotics industry. Another startup that is changing its industry is AvaWatz, a developer of collaboration tools that allow robots and drones to work together as teams performing data-informed tasks.

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