Prosthetics

Revolutionizing Prosthetics

Overview

Begun in 2006, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s (DARPA) Revolutionizing Prosthetics program set out to expand prosthetic arm options for wounded warriors. The program funded two teams to create advanced anthropomorphic mechanical arms and control systems: DEKA Research and Development Corporation to get an arm control system to market quickly, and the other—with APL as the system integrator and lead—to produce a fully neurally integrated upper-extremity prosthesis to support clinical trials and manufacturing transition. APL created a modular architecture and extensible platform that provided a framework for future developments by us or others.

The APL-led team sought to build a biologically-inspired prosthesis with several key characteristics:

  • sensors for touch, temperature, vibration, and proprioception (the ability to sense the position of the arm and hand relative to other parts of the body)
  • power systems enabling extended use
  • mechanical components providing strength and environmental tolerance

With this new prosthesis, an individual who has lost their upper limb would be able to regain the ability to feel and manipulate objects as if with a biological hand.

Sponsors

Program Background

DARPA contracted more than $107 million for the APL-led Revolutionizing Prosthetics program to create a fully functional upper limb that responded to direct neural control. The groundbreaking work done under this program capitalized on previous DARPA investments in neuroscience, robotics, sensors, power systems, and actuation. In particular, this program built on DARPA’s Human Assisted Neural Devices program, which decoded the brain’s motor signals with such fidelity that movements of a robotic arm could be controlled entirely by direct brain control.

The following items illustrate DARPA’s rationale, goals, and commitment to Revolutionizing Prosthetics and associated programs.

Partners
Revolutionizing Prosthetics Staff
Revolutionizing Prosthetics Staff

The Revolutionizing Prosthetics team brought together the most respected scientific researchers in their fields, as well as commercial leaders from the prosthetics industry. The project was shaped by a multidisciplinary team that included experts in signal processing and pattern recognition, electrodes for brain implants, mechatronics, neuroscience, electrical engineering, cognitive science, signal processing, battery design, nanotechnology, and even behavioral science.