proCover: Smart Sock Adds Sensation to Prosthetic Limbs

Today's commercially available prosthetic limbs don't feature tactile sensation or feedback. Researchers from the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria in Hagenberg, Austria have developed a prototype that offers a custom, self-applicable approach for the sensory augmentation of low to mid-range priced lower-limb prosthetics. Their 'proCover' is made of layers of conductive fabric that sandwich a piezoresistive layer, which creates a pressure-sensitive grid that covers the foot and ankle. This is connected to a ring of vibrating motors, and pressure on a certain part of the foot causes certain motors to vibrate at different frequencies.

Transcript

00:00:00 we present proc cover a smart textile cover for the sensory augmentation of prosthetic limbs in consultation with lower limb UTS we learned that prosthesis users have different sensing needs proc cover handles touch discrimination pressure variability Bend detection and user-driven customization to support these diverse needs in tests proc cover was found to be a promising

00:00:26 non-invasive approach for the sensory enhancement of prosthetic limbs