Week 13
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APPLICATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Individual Assignment

Propose a final project masterpiece that integrates the range of units covered.


Final project (INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT)

 

What will it do?

I will make a (prototype of) Soft Robotic Posture Correction Brace. This will be a wearable, that applies force on certain zones of the thorax of the user, to avoid a bad posture. This force will be applied through soft actutators wich no requires air pumps.
This is an ambitious idea, so I will make a prototype of it.



Who's done what beforehand?

There is a team of graduate students of Columbia University, who made a Robotic Brace at 2016. That device has rigid actuators to apply force on the thorax of user. His main application is help on the scoliosis treatment.



One of the problem of that devide is the use of heavy bateries and actuators.

What will you design?

I will design a group of soft actuators that no require air pumps, based on a design of another team of the Columbia University. These actuator will be electrically actuated and will have NiChrome wire and ethanol. Later, I will put these actuators on a mechanism that can move a brace attached to the thorax of the user. The mechanism will be controlled by a electronic board designed and programmed to handle all of them. I will design too an interface to set the parameters on the brace.

What materials and components will be used? Where will come from? How much will they cost?

Tis is mi list of materials.



What parts and systems will be made?

The parts to I need to make are:

  • Soft actuator
  • electronic control board
  • spinal brace


What processes will be used?

For the soft actuator , the fabrication process include molding (additive or subtractive methods) and casting. The electronic board will produced machining circuit boards and welding the components on it. Finally, the spinal brace will be made with fabric and 3d printing.

What questions need to be answered?

I want to know if it's possible a soft robotics wearable device to correct the posture and potentially help on the scoliosis treatment.

How will it be evaluated?

Due to the project is a prototype, I will evaluate the functionality and I will describe the improves needed to turn this into a final product.

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