WATCH: UKZN develops an arm to touch the lives of the disabled

A TEAM from the University of KwaZulu-Natal had a hand in yesterday’s “Cybathlon”, the global contest that promotes ingenuity and advancement of assistive technologies.

UKZN’s “Touch Hand” – a low-cost arm prosthesis that empowers amputees with ability to do regular household tasks, was entered in the Cybathlon - regarded as the prostheses Olympics.

Once the robotic arm is attached to the pilot, it is able to pick up signals from the user's muscles and feed them into the device’s computers.

The computers are able to decode EMG (electromyography) electrodes, which is electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles of the pilot, and instructions are sent to the fingers for the execution of various hand gestures.

Power for the device is drawn from attached USB power banks.

A total of 76 teams from around the world participated virtually in the event organised by Swiss public research university ETHZürich.

Advancing research in the field of assistive technology, producing prosthesis and promoting inclusion of people with disabilities in everyday life is the aim of the programme.

UKZN’s participation was supported by the Robotics Association of South Africa and the local Swiss Embassy.

Other categories of the competition included: brain-computer Interface; functional electrical stimulation; leg prosthesis, wheelchair and assistance robot.

UKZN’s team was led by Professor Riaan Stopforth, who was approached by the National Centre for Competence in Research (NCCR) Robotics in Switzerland and selected to compete in their elected category.

Other team members working with Stopforth, a mechanical engineering lecturer, included researchers, academics and UKZN’s post-graduate students.

“I'm chuffed with the hand we produced. It’s not 100% where we want it to be, but it is a work in progress and we are getting there.”

Stopforth said it was not possible to completely replicate the functioning of the human hand, regardless of the technology used.

“Our hand is able to do many tasks, maybe not as smooth and quick as a person would, but at least we can assist an amputee in some way.”

He said the tasks in the competition were those that were needed in a house environment.

“Things in the kitchen like opening a stove, taking out a casserole dish and moving it on a table, putting cutlery in a drawer, stacking cups and swiping an ATM card.

“We ensure that the hand responds to the given commands.”

Stopforth said the hand was one of the most difficult prostheses to produce.

“It is one of the most needed devices and the most complex to pursue.

“There were difficulties along the way but we were able to engineer solutions.”

He said there were lots of fine tuning to do ahead of the competition.

“The Swiss are big on safety and we had to meet their standards or else they wouldn’t have let us compete.”

Stopforth was in Switzerland in 2015 when the organisers became acquainted with the work that was being done by the UKZN to develop an arm.

That mission began in 2013.

“They wanted us to participate in the 2016 event but we were not ready for it. We competed in 2020.

“We are glad to have represented South Africa, and compared our device to others around the world,” he said.

Lungile Dick was the Touch Hands pilot.

Dick, 54, from Gqeberha, lost part of his right-arm, which was crushed while working on a machine in a factory during 2006.

“From that day life changed,” Dick said.

Initially the trauma weighed heavily on him, but he did not let it overwhelm him, he decided to change his mindset.

“It could have been for better or worse. I chose better and I have not looked back since.

“I realised it didn't make me any less of a person. I appreciate life now more than before and the value of a finger.

“Currently I’m working for VW and I got in because of a disability. It is a far better job than what I had previously. My disability became a blessing.”

His participation in the project was informed by his drive as an activist attempting to improve the lives of disabled people.

He had a prosthesis from the state, which was cumbersome, but rates the UKZN’s model “user friendly”.

“It’s obvious that it won't be 100% like a real hand but it is something that will enhance my day.

“Having an affordable prosthesis that people can make use of was my motivation to be a part of this project.”