Memorial robotic hand raises university flag over St. John’s City Hall

From the Springboard Content Lab

Springboard member Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador celebrated its centennial by showcasing a robotic hand, which was used to raise the university flag over the St. John’s City Hall in September.

Dr. Xianta Jiang, an assistant professor of computer science in the Faculty of Science at Memorial and fellow researchers are creating a prosthetic hand which will allow amputees to pick up a cup of coffee or shake hands with a friend.

The researchers are now training the robot hand using artificial intelligence with human input. This will enable amputees to operate an artificial limb as easily as their intact hand without requiring surgery.

Traditionally, prosthetic hands relied on muscle signals which are not always reliable. This robotic hand will not use muscle signals. It will be trained to function autonomously using a camera to see objects someone is trying to grab. Dr. Jiang likens the robotic prosthetic to a self-driving car.

CBC interview with Dr. Jiang on the robotic hand

In 2023, Dr. Jiang was was awarded $237,750 by the Government of Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) to develop the technology.

Dr. Jiang and his research colleagues are using a novel bio-inspired natural prosthetic hand control interface that features the addition of miniature cameras and tactile sensors to the prosthetic hands.

“These additions will enable the robotic hand to “see” the target and “feel” the environment and the object during the reach-and-grasp process, and automatically drive the hand towards grasping with little control effort from the user. The amputees only need to decide whether to proceed or retrieve the robotic hand.”

– Dr. Xianta Jiang, an assistant professor of computer science in the Faculty of Science at Memorial

Multi-disciplinary research collaboration

The project is highly interdisciplinary, involving the manufacturing and integration of tactile sensors, computer vision and the development of machine learning algorithms.

In addition to bringing together researchers from computer science and engineering — with expertise spanning mechanical, electrical and computer engineering and computer science — it also includes collaborators from rehabilitation science, kinesiology and psychology.

Researchers hope the project will deliver an affordable and easy-to-use natural control interface that will decrease the rejection rate of prosthetic hand use in real life and benefit amputees throughout Canada and the world.

Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador is a member of the Springboard Network. Our mission is to grow with economy through the commercialization of research and by connecting industry with researchers to solve real world problems.