This New ‘Bionic’ Prosthetic Mimics the Foot’s Bones, Ligaments and Muscles

Amaze Lab

Prosthetic limbs have come a long way in recent years. However, the most recent iterations with regards to feet have gone for function over form. Enter the SoftFoot Pro, a new artificial limb by the Italian Institute of Technology.

Transcript

00:00Prosthetic limbs have come a long way in recent years, but most of their iterations, especially

00:08with regards to feet, have gone for function over form, and to the SoftFoot Pro, a new

00:12artificial limb by the Italian Institute of Technology.

00:16It has a soft body mimicking a real human foot, one its developers say is not only more

00:20complex than the hand, but which also helps humans deal with every environment.

00:25This is one of SoftFoot Pro's developers, Manuel Catalano.

00:29According to him, the system of phalanx bones, ligaments, and muscles are key to the ease

00:33of human locomotion.

00:34What we are trying to do is to replicate this principle in a technology system that can

00:42be available for both humanoid robots and also prosthetic systems for humans.

00:47He adds that because of its soft body, it can absorb impacts well, but it also has phalanges

00:52just like the foot, which allow it to grasp the environment and adapt, meaning unlike

00:56other prosthetics, this one is truly all-terrain, and it could be used for robots as well.

01:01Currently, most humanoid robots have flat feet which improves stability, but it sacrifices

01:05their ability to function on all surfaces.

01:08The best part?

01:09The SoftFoot Pro doesn't have any motors, meaning it doesn't need to be charged.

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