The smart arm team, competed to the Cybathlon Challenge 2024 in the ARM race. The competition took place in Zürich, in February 2024.
In the ARM category, 4 tasks were presented to the pilots:
The Do-It-Yourself Task: The dexterous use of hand tools requires a prosthetic hand and wrist that provide active motion about multiple axes (pronation/supination, palmar flexion/dorsal extension, and radial and ulnar abduction). Since hand tools are often used in confined spaces the active control of many degrees of freedom becomes even more important. In this task, pilots must use a variety of hand tools in the context of do-it-yourself type work.
The Hanging Laundry Task: Handling laundry and putting on clothes requires a distinct set of fine motor skills, in particular in the fingers. Furthermore, for an arm prosthesis to be practical for daily use it must be compatible with standard clothes. In this task, the pilot must put on a hooded sweater and fully close the zipper. Then, the pilot must hang up the hooded sweater on the clothesline using a hanger. Finally, the pilot must hang up a t-shirt on the clothesline using blue clothespins.
The Serving Food Task: Cooking often involves grasping and carrying objects (e.g., pans) of significant weight from one location to another while it must be made sure that none of the content is spilt. In this task, a casserole dish and a frying pan must be carried from the stove to a predefined location on a table.
The Stacking Task: Maintenance of a tight grip during postural changes of the arm (e.g., pronation and supination of the forearm, elbow flexion and extension) can be challenging for prosthetic hand users but is relevant in many situations in daily life such as when pouring liquids or turning objects. In this task, pilots sit in front of a table and must stack blue cups into a vertical pyramid.
