University of KZN prosthetics’ team eyes global cybathlon crown
The world is about to witness UKZN's latest offering in Engineering, The Touch Hand. The prototype, dubbed a solution to people living disabilities, will be among several global entrants vying for the crown in the upcoming Global Cybathlon Championship taking place in Durban this weekend.
UNIVERSITY of KwaZulu-Natal’s (UKZN’s) School of Engineering’s team, The Touch Prosthetics Team, is set to represent South Africa in the 2024 Global Cybathlon Championships on Saturday, October 26. The team will be showcasing its groundbreaking assistive technology suitable for everyday use for people living with disabilities.
Cybathlon is a prostheses Olympics in which 76 teams, consisting of persons with physical disabilities, from countries worldwide, compete to complete everyday tasks using state-of-the-art technical-assistance systems. The Touch Prosthetics team will be competing using its latest innovation, The Touch Hand.
The Touch Hand, still in its developmental stage, is said to be an affordable, durable and easily upgradable, customised prosthetic hand.
“We aim to propel the prosthetics field forward and make its technology more accessible to the public through The Touch Hand. This will be achieved by producing low-cost, modular, advanced prosthetics with the aid of advanced 3D printing. Touch Hands allow for simple and easy operations using advanced control features. Our modular design will ensure that repairing The Touch Hand is simple and affordable.
“It has a modular design of controllable fingers and thumb, which make it look and feel as real as possible,” explained Prof Riaan Stopforth, team leader and SA Cybathlon hub manager. He will lead the UKZN hopefuls, made up of researchers, academics and post-graduate students.
Also read: SA takes on the world in prosthesis race
The competition has strict requirements, with the various international hubs competing at the same time, to the same specifications, with professional personnel assigned to monitor each event. Disciplines in the competition include Brain-Computer Interface; Functional Electrical Stimulation; Arm Prosthesis; Leg Prosthesis; Exoskeleton; Wheelchair; Assistance Robot; and Vision Assistance.
The UKZN Touch Prosthetics team ‘pilot’ (the Cybathlon amputee participating in the event) is Gqeberha resident Lungile Dick. He will be armed with The Touch Hand at the tournament.
The South African-Powered Arm Prosthesis heats will take place at 11:30 (qualifying) and 15:12 (finals) on Saturday, October 26. Each team’s best race time and results will be broadcast live on the CYBATHLON YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@CYBATHLONETH
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