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Ironhand® wins NASA Commercial Invention of the Year Award (regulatory information)
World’s first soft robotic muscle strengthening system. Developed in collaboration with leading Fortune 500 companies
Ironhand® is designed to mimic the human body. The technology follows the user's actions in an intuitive way and augments the grasping force only if the human initiates a grasp.
The Ironhand glove is equipped with artificial tendons and pressure sensitive sensors in the fingertips. The sensors detect when the user grabs an object and trigger the servo motors installed in the power pack. A microcomputer then calculates the amount of power to be added and small motors pull the artificial tendons. As a result, the finger joints flex and a grip are performed with less force needed by the human. The harder the human grasps, the more force is applied by Ironhand. Ironhand automatically adjusts the power added to the weight of the object to be lifted, making it intuitive.
The Ironhand glove can be adjusted according to individual preferences as well as the work situation at hand. Different combinations of force, sensitivity, locking tendency and finger balance can be saved as tailored profiles. The operator can preset multiple profiles and easily adjust the output and switch between these with a remote control located on the chest.
This may be suitable if, for example, the operator needs different amounts of force throughout the day, or different profiles for various tools. An assessment of the presets required is usually done prior to using the system. All adjustments can easily be done through the IronConnect application.
Force balance - can be set for each finger and can be described as a percentage of the maximum force set on the remote control
Sensitivity - the relation between the input from the operator and the output of the system
Activation Threshold - determines how much force the operator must apply to the sensors before the system activates
Locking Tendency - allows the glove to keep it’s force even if the operator relaxes the grasp
Quick Grasp - gives the system a quicker reaction
Ironhand glove sizes | S, M, L, XL (right and left) |
| Back pack sizes | S/M, L/XL |
| Hip-carry sizes | S, M, L |
| Weight of the Ironhand system | 2,5 kg, approximately 6 pounds |
| Weight of Ironhand Power Pack | 1,35 kg, approximately 2 pounds |
| Measures Ironhand Power Pack | 32 x 12 x 7,5 cm |
| Battery type | lithium ® |
| Battery time | approximately 6-8 hours |
| Maximum additional force | 16 N per finger |
