The Culmination
CleverHand represents the culmination of my engineering journey - from the 8-year-old building marble catchers to a researcher developing advanced prosthetic interfaces. Every project before this contributed something to its design.
What Is CleverHand?
CleverHand is a state-of-the-art, wearable electromyography (EMG) system designed for versatile and high-quality muscle activity measurement. It enables prosthetic hands to respond to the user's intentions by decoding muscle signals.
Technical Specifications
Modular Architecture
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1 to 16 modules can be chained together
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5 surface electrodes per module (3mm × 18mm)
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20mm × 20mm module size - compact and wearable
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Gold-plated electrodes embedded directly in the PCB
High-Density EMG
The compact module size enables high spatial resolution for detailed analysis of muscle activation patterns. This is crucial for distinguishing subtle differences in intended movements.
Smart Addressing
Each module's address is determined by its physical position in the chain:
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No hardcoded addresses needed
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Simple plug-and-play configuration
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Four-wire encoding for efficient communication
Signal Quality
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4 kHz sampling rate - captures rapid muscle dynamics
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24-bit resolution - high signal fidelity
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Addressable RGB LEDs - visual feedback on each module
Communication Options
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Wired: Ethernet for high-bandwidth applications
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Wireless: For untethered prosthetic use
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LSL streaming: Real-time integration with other software
Graphical User Interface
The CleverHand GUI provides:
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Parameter configuration - sampling rate, resolution, routing
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Recording sessions - easy data capture
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Real-time visualization - see EMG signals as they're captured
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Configurable filters - process signals on the fly
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LSL streaming - seamless integration with analysis tools
The Journey to CleverHand
Looking back, I can trace the path that led here:
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Marble Catcher (2004) - problem-solving with mechanisms
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ArmStrong (2013) - human-machine interfaces
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Sauria (2018) - assistive technology for disabilities
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EMG Hand Decoding (2018) - muscle signal processing
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All the projects in between - accumulated skills and knowledge
Impact
CleverHand is designed for researchers and clinicians working to restore function to people who have lost limbs. Every improvement in signal quality, every reduction in latency, every increase in reliability brings us closer to prosthetics that feel like natural extensions of the body.
Open Source
The CleverHand system is designed to be accessible to the research community, enabling collaboration and advancement in the field of prosthetics and human-machine interfaces.