(Image credit Dani Clode)
Having an extra limb can come in handy, even if it’s just an extra digit- in this case, another thumb. Think of all the extra words you could type per-minute, playing complex chords on a guitar or finally being able to palm a basketball. The Third Thumb Project designed by Royal College of Art graduate Dani Clode can allow you to do those things and more.
The thumb was created to change the way we view prosthetics as Dani explains, “The Third Thumb investigates the relationship between the body and prosthetic technology in new ways. It is part tool, part experience, and part self-expression; a model by which we better understand human response to artificial extensions. It instigates necessary conversation about the definition of ‘ability.'”
(Image credit Dani Clode)
The additional appendage is actually the product of 3D printing and a bit of ingenuity- the ‘thumb’ (printed with NinjaFlex and FormLabs grey resin) is outfitted with a pair of joints, which are actuated by a pressure sensor located on the wearer’s shoes. When pressed, the sensor sends a Bluetooth signal to the wristband, which drives dual servomotors housed inside to articulate the thumb.
The sensors are the key- pressing down on them contracts the thumb releasing or lifting up shifts the thumb back to normal or in the relaxed position. “The human thumb has a really dynamic movement, the opposing movements working together make the thumb more functional than a single finger,” says Dani. “The Third Thumb replicates these movements by using two motors pulling against the natural tension of a flexible 3D printed material.”
(Image credit Dani Clode)
The Third Thumb is still in the prototype phase, and Clode sees it as a starting base for future adaptation of aesthetics or as she puts it- “When we reframe prosthetics as extensions, then we start to shift the focus from ‘fixing’ disability to extending ability.” I see it as a beginning or starting platform to what prosthetics could be in the future, and the fact that they can be 3D printed makes it even better.
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