Smart Sensing and Dynamic Fitting for Enhanced Comfort and Performance of Prosthetics

The objective of the project is to enhance the long-term fit and performance of prosthetic sockets through smart sensing, adaptive interface, and shear-based dynamic fitting strategy. In the second year, the sensor development effort has been focused on 1) fabricating custom-made prosthetic liners with the sensors embedded and 2) developing a portable dynamic sensor interrogation unit. We have implemented a test fixture for sensor characterization and validated that the shear/pressure sensor fabricated in soft liner material has an uncertainties of around +/-10% of the full range. A portable interrogator was developed to achieve dynamic sensor interrogation at a sampling rate of 200 Hz. For actuation, we have characterized the load bearing capability of air cell actuator arrays at different actuation pressures. A limb-socket laboratory test setup was developed for capturing the internal pressure change of air cell actuators when the limb was subjected to the external force.