It is estimated that about 80 million people worldwide live in terror. For example, those who live with Parkinson’s disease. Inadvertent periodic movements sometimes strongly affect the way patients are able to perform daily activities, such as drinking from a glass or writing. Loaded soft robotic devices offer a possible solution to suppress such horror. However, existing prototypes are not yet sophisticated enough to provide a real treatment.
Scientists at the Max Planck Fournent Systems (MPI-IT), University of Tübingen and Stuttgart University in collaboration with Bionic Intelligence Tübingen Stuttgart (bit) want to change this. The group was equipped with a bioromic arm with two strands of artificial muscles connected along the forearm. As can be seen in this video, the biobid arm – here was called the mechanical patient – simulates a terror. Several real terms have been recorded and projected on the bioromic arm which then reflects how each patient shakes the wrist and hand. However, once horror suppression is activated, light artificial muscles, which are made of electro-hydraulic actuators, contribute and relax in such a way as to compensate the movement back and back. Now, terror can hardly feel or see.
With this hand, the team wants to achieve two goals: First, the team sees their biomatic arm as a platform for other scientists in the field to try new ideas in auxiliary extracurricular technology. Along with the simulations of their industrial computers, developers can quickly validate how well their soft artificial muscles perform, thus avoiding time-consuming and expensive clinical trials in real patients-who in some countries are not even legally possible.
In addition, the arm serves as a test bed for artificial muscles that the Robotic Materials Department in MPI-I is known in the scientific community. Over the years, these so -called Hasels have been refined and improved. It is the team’s vision for the Hasels in one day to make the building blocks of an auxiliary portable device that patients with horror can wear comfortably to be able to better cope with daily duties such as having a cup.
“We are seeing a great opportunity for our muscles to become the building blocks of a garment that one can wear very discreetly, so that others do not even realize that the person is suffering from terror,” says Alona Shagan Shomron, a postdoc in the Robotic Materials Department in MPI-IT and the first author of a research document. “We have shown that our artificial muscles, based on Hasel’s technology, are quite fast and strong enough for a wide range of horror in the wrist.
“With the combination of mechanical patient and industrial model we can measure if any tested artificial muscles are good enough to suppress all terror, even very strong. He is a professor at the Hertie’s Institute of Clinical Research at the University of Tübingen.
The mechanical patient allows us to control the potential of new technologies too early in development, without the need for expensive and time -consuming clinical trials in real patients. Many good ideas are often not further pursued, as clinical trials are expensive and time -consuming and difficult to finance in very early stages of technology development. Our engineer is the solution that allows us to control the potential very early on development. ”
SYN Schmitt, Professor of Computational Biophysics and Bioromics, Stuttgart University
“Robotics has great potential for healthcare applications. This successful project highlights the key role that soft robotic systems will play, based on flexible and deformable materials,” concludes Christoph Keplinger, director of the Robotics Department at MPI.
Source:
Magazine report:
Shomron, as, et al. (2025) A robotics and virtual test platform that highlights the promise of soft portable actuators to suppress wrist terror. Device. doi.org/10.1016/j.device.2025.100719.
