Theoretical physicist and Cosmologist Stephen Hawking is the biggest inspiration for people living with disabilities. Despite being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in his early twenties, Stephen did not allow his disablement to stop him from achieving his dream. He turned to technology to countervail his speech and mobility difficulties. He had changed our perspective on disability and encouraged the community to leverage technology to raise the living standard of billions who live with a disability.
Advances in technology are extensively enhancing the prototyping of prosthetics. Many pioneers have ventured into this space and are designing efficient and comfortable artificial limbs.
Inspired by a real-life encounter, an IIT alumni Llewellyn Dsa decided to weigh up cutting-edge technologies and leverage them to help the disabled change the way they lived. The light bulb moment on his entrepreneurial journey happened when he came across a physically challenged batch mate who was struggling to get the right prosthetic limb that fitted him well and brought him the ease and support he needed to carry out his daily chores. Llewellyn’s avidity incited him to take a deeper look into the gaps that existed in the technologies, functionality, and affordability of these artificial arms. The aspiration of bridging these gaps and enabling people with physical disabilities lead a life that is self-standing, Medtech enthusiasts Llewellyn along with Anil Nair, and Priyanka Dsa laid the cornerstone of Robo Bionics.
Robo Bionics launched an artificial robotic hand called Grippy- a NABL Lab Safety Tested and Certified, 3D printed Prosthetic hand with a sense of touch and multi-grip control. The altruistic innovation of this Mumbai-based startup has gained paramount recognition across the domain. Their invention is acknowledged by the Startup India Initiative by the DPIIT, Government of India, and bagged them the National Startup Award 2021 in Medical Devices on the eve of National Startup Day!
The company is virtually incubated at the Center of Excellence – IoT & AI, Gurugram, which is a Joint initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY), Govt. of Haryana, and NASSCOM. They are TechWizards Affiliated.
Llewellyn D’sa Co-Founder of Robo Bionics said, “We have developed our sensors named MMG sensors that work on the pressure displacement rather than nerve activity because of which the product learning time by the user gets reduced to half as it’s as easy as operating a doorbell and it doesn’t depend on conditions like sweat, humidity, and fatigue like traditional EMG sensors. We have also added a feedback loop like our proprietary sense of touch technology that enables us to reduce the learning time and incorporate a Bio-Feedback onto the product.”
How does Grippy assist amputees?
This user-friendly prosthetic hand empowers amputees to perform physical chores like opening or closing a bottle cap, eating, dressing, driving a car, holding a newspaper, holding a handle, and so forth, without difficulty or dependency. The electronic sensors in the devices mimic the sense of touch that makes the user feel secure and comfortable. The fact that Grippy is non-invasive and weighs between 500 to 700 grams which are way lesser than a traditional prosthesis, it is comprehensible and ensures easy interfacing without counting much on one’s vision or intuition makes it one of the most suitable and desirable prosthetic hands.
