Diseño de una mano artificial antropomórfica para aplicaciones protésicas

Abstract
This paper presents the design of a prototype of an artificial anthropomorphic prosthetic hand that attempts to reproduce the appearance and movements of the human hand. Motivator's goals for the design were functionality, aesthetics and economics. Regarding the functionality, the hand can be configured with three grasping patterns to handle objects of different shapes and sizes. It has five fingers, where the index, middle, ring and little fingers, have three phalanges that facilitate their flexion and extension. The thumb has two phalanges to perform flexion and extension movements. The thumb was designed with an independent mechanism that allows its opposition to the rest of the fingers. The hand opening and closing is performed by DC motors located into the palm and commanded with an Arduino board. The fingers have force and flex sensors that provide feedback to control the hands movements. With respect to aesthetics, we intended to mimic the appearance, in terms of size and shape, of an adult man hand without harming its functionality. Finally, the economic aspect was accomplished using materials and other parts that were easily accessible and inexpensive. The construction of the prototype was performed by plastic modelling technology such as 3D printers.