Thank you for following us this far through our journey to revolutionize prosthetic s. Let’s recap what we have accomplished these past few weeks and then discuss what we will be accomplishing in the future. The team started off with just an idea, an idea to redefine mobility. We then conducted an intense material research study which resulted in material testing a variety of 3D printed materials. We then went directly into working out the mechanics of the prosthetic foot. This included many different iterations using 3D printing as the prototyping method. While we were designing the basic structure of the foot the group was also working on methods of energy suppression, the damper. The group next worked on figuring out a way to actuate and control the prosthesis.This was done using sensors that feed into the Arduino microcontroller thus driving servos within the hydraulic valve block. This ultimately drives the hydraulic cylinders allowing the prosthetic to move.

The following are future goals the group has to improve the design and further develop this prosthetic foot. When we add a more advanced control system it will allow for increased safety and functionality. This will involve a more advanced algorithm as well as a multitude of additional sensors to allow for reliability of the system. We plan to add a more compact hydraulic and dampening system as it is crucial in reducing weight. Additionally, a hydraulic system that is more refined and is designed in such a way that insures a completely sealed system with zero leaks is extremely important in insuring reliability. Finally, the electronics and power management system will be condensed and moved onto the prosthesis. Our goal is to have a battery that is similar in size to the size of a couple of cellphone batteries stacked together.

Aractapod looks forward to continuing work on this project with the Hackaday community trying to reduce cost and increase the functionality and accessibility of powered prosthetic's on the market today!