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The EXO-ARM: A Muscular Orthosis

The EXO-ARM is the senior project conceived, designed, and assembled by myself along with my three other team members. Our design details an arm orthosis based on the unique concept of Electromyography.

The Need

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All around the world people suffer with degenerative muscular diseases. There is an imperative need for these people to receive relief and help in any way possible. That's where the Exo-Arm comes into play.

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Our design also includes practical applications in warehouse and factory settings, where individuals are engaging in repetitive lifting motions for extended periods of time.

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We were allocated an additional $1250 grant money sponsored by MEFS upon a presentation for the board.

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What Makes the Exo-Arm Unique?

Arm orthoses have been in design for years. What sets the Exo-Arm apart is its incorporation of Electromyography (EMG).

 

By placing EMG sensors on the users bicep, tricep, and elbow, the outputted muscular voltage signal is interpreted via Arduino, which then turns a motor thereby rotating the users arm.

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The image (Right) shows the hardware layout of the Exo-Arm, from the initial EMG signal to the turning of the motor

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Initial Renderings

Our first iteration renderings of the assembly designed in SolidWorks.

Signal Processing

By using a smoothing function, the raw EMG signal is converted into a plot much more interpretable by the Arduino.

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The Final Design

Shown on the left is three views of our final design completed in SolidWorks. The condensed assembly includes:

  • Ventholes for overheating

  • 6 personally designed 0.3mm 3D printed coverings for wire containment.

  • Worm gear assembly with a high-yield gear ratio.

  • 2 mechanical steel stoppers for safety.

  • A failsafe button that cuts all power to the motor.

Included are 6 custom designed and machined parts:

  • 3 laser cut plexiglass acrylic motor coverings.

  • 2 steel safety stoppers

  • 1 aesthetic "EXO-ARM" powder coated plate.

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After printing and assembly, the design was tested and presented at the WIT Senior Capstone Event, with its performance surpassing all expectations.

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