Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/07/31/man-with-no-fingers-is-making.html
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What a legend. That’s pretty incredible engineering, and its mechanical rather than an electronically controlled prosthetic as far as i can tell which makes it pretty damn cool. Thanks for sharing
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That is pretty damn impressive.
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It looks that way, but I’m a little confused that he has videos on making custom circuitry? I can’t tell if that’s part of the same project or not.
A purely mechanical prosthetic has a certain elegance and reliability to it, reminds me of Imperator Furiosa’s arm in Mad Max: Fury Road.
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Fuck yes, that is metal as hell.
I’ve been looking into a career as a prosthetist lately- my Alma matter apparently has an excellent program now, I’m a bit familiar since I had a friend who was one in Oklahoma at the same school I was studying watchmaking, and I work as a machinist but lament that I can’t use my machining to directly help humanity.
This kind of thing is a noble use of machining, and gives people their lives back a little.
I also might not ever have to work among Trumpian idiots who deny reality and threaten my life maskless on a daily basis.
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Awesome, good timing too really:
COVID-19 survivor who spent 64 days in Burbank hospital, had most of his fingers amputated: ‘This can happen to you’
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His prosthetic has a steam-punk/terminator-movie vibe that may be more attractive to candidates than the realistic affairs… and proudly worn, perhaps?
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This was one of the curated items featured in one of the Quay Brother’s docos.
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That is a marvel of steampunk engineering. It’s sad that he lost his fingers to inspire this.
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This is awesome. It’ll be interesting to see if he does a lighter resin/carbon/etc version, which would presumably allow lighter springs, etc.
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Very nicely done. I don’t know if there’s other videos, but there’s no indication of ability to grasp, manipulate, squeeze, etc. Can he pick up a pencil? An egg? Turn a screwdriver? Not a criticism, I just wanna know. I await more results.
But how can you do all that, and not add pop-out claws?
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His instagram feed shows him doing some basic tasks with the hand. Not sure if he can use it to operate tools, but he can certainly use it as a tool.
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Can he flip people the bird? I think that’s what everyone is wondering.
Also, that and finding Sarah Conner.
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Doesn’t seem like its built for fine motor control in mind but just general grabbing, which in itself is pretty important and seems to be able to quickly do it in a flexible manner. They do have prosthesis geared towards very fine motor controls but they can be bulky, heavy, and involve a lot of software/electronics and some might need the use of implanted electrodes.
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When my kids were little, I taught them to count in binary on their fingers. You can count to 31 on one hand or 1023 using both.
Try it some time and count to 4 or 128. 132 if you’re in a really bad mood.
Unfortunately for this guy, getting 5 independent control inputs for his mechanical hand may prove elusive. He may remain communication impaired for life.
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That hasn’t stopped half the people on the internet.
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I think you have that backwards as a wise man once pointed out:
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Well done, Humanity; you continue to impress.
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What I learned from my FIL (may he rest in peace), a veteran and an amputee:
(but for hand not leg)
and maybe thin silicone pads to protect any skin/tissue for long days wearing the prosthetic uninterrupted.
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