EMPIRE ROBOTICS, INC. — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Empire Robotics, Inc., in collaboration with Liberat
EMPIRE ROBOTICS, INC. — SBIR Phase I award from Department of Health and Human Services.
- Amount
- $214,600
- Agency
- Department of Health and Human Services · National Institutes of Health
- Program / Phase
- SBIR · Phase I
- Solicitation
- PA13-234
- NAICS
- —
- Place of performance
- MA
- Period
- —
Description
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Empire Robotics, Inc., in collaboration with Liberating Technologies, Inc., is proposing to develop an adaptive prosthetic gripper enabled by the jamming of granular media. Empire Robotics has previously demonstratedthe utility of the gripper's core technology-in which granular media contained in a flexible, impermeable membrane can transition between solid-like and fluid-like states by controlling the air pressure within the membrane-in industrial automation applications. When there is no differential pressure applied on the system, the gripper is soft and can passively conform to target objects. After deformation, air is evacuated from inside the membrane inducing a jammed rigid state to firmly grasp the object. Compared to existing terminal devices which often consist of rigid clamping jaws, the proposed gripper can improve the ease with which upper-limb amputees can perform activities of daily living (ADLs) in the home, and can also help amputees return to w