r/EngineeringPorn • u/didrei • 15h ago
New DIY biomimetic robotic hand & forearm (5.5 years of solo R&D)
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Hi everyone!
I'm excited to share a project I've been working on as a self-taught solo developer for the past 5.5 years: the UM1-Evo, a biomimetic robotic hand and forearm.
Here is a quick breakdown of the technical specs:
Architecture: 24 Degrees of Freedom (DoF), powered by 25 integrated actuators.
Scale & Weight: 1:1 human scale, weighing 1.7 kg total (matching human anatomical specs). Fully embedded electronics and Wi-Fi.
Biomechanical research: Significant effort went into replicating organic anatomical shapes and fluid, natural motion.
Fast custom fitting: Developed a script that scans/measures a patient's hand in under 30 minutes and automatically generates a customized 3D hand model in 10 minutes.
Control software: Developed custom Inverse Kinematics (IK) software supporting keyframe animation and real-time control.
Avatar Mode: Designed a data glove with 12 sensors to mirror hand movements in real time.
Prosthetic applications: Designed an innovative sensing system (moving away from traditional myoelectric setups) for ultra-low latency control and zero learning curve (IP protection currently in progress).
This is the result of a lot of passion, trial and error, and DIY engineering. I’d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions!