A CHALLENGING PROJECT
SoftHandPro is a novel robot hand prosthesis adopting the principles of softrobotics to achieve a simple and effective implementation of the human synergies. Originally developed for the industry by the Italian Institute of Technology and the Centro Piaggio of Università di Pisa, the SoftHand is becoming a prosthesis thanks to Natural Bionics, an ERC Synergy project and SoftPro, a H2020 research project. Thirty prosthetic users are currently testing it in 4 academic and rehabilitation centers around the world, to improve design, dexterity, and fitness to myoelectric prosthetic use. The latest design of the hand is smaller and lighter while keeping its original merits: simplicity, due to the presence of one only motor; compliance, strength and robustness, thanks to its unique feature: the intrinsic softness of its human-like 19 degrees of freedom.