Project Grant 1721466

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project aims to develop a novel prescription process for customizing prosthetic feet based on individual patient characteristics. The $274,975 award, granted on September 15, 2023, will enable the awardee, Little Room Innovations LLC, to create a system that utilizes adjustable prosthetic foot prototypes and optimization algorithms to determine optimal mechanical properties for each patient's customized...

This Project Grant award, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Engineering (CFDA 47.041) program, supports fundamental research into the role of defects in the electrical actuation of elastomers (elastomer dielectrics) and explores strategies to mitigate their negative impact. The $325,555 award to Purdue University, with a period of performance from September 2023 to August 2026, aims to develop insights that could enable the adoption of low-cost polymer actuators for...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Engineering (ENG) awarded a $249,697 Project Grant to The Research Foundation For The State University Of New York, doing business as Stony Brook University, to develop a novel prosthetic robot for individuals with lower limb amputation. The key objectives of this 4-year project are to: Develop a wearable motion capture system using inertial measurement units (IMUs) to reconstruct and predict human gait during daily life activities outside of...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering program Project Grant, with the award ID 2340519, is providing $478,141 to the University of Illinois to develop a personalized, wearable robotic prosthesis that can dynamically adapt to the unique movement patterns and sensory needs of individuals with below-knee amputations (BKA). The 5-year project aims to create an advanced, co-adaptive robotic prosthesis that uses biofeedback and real-time optimization to continuously personalize the...

This three-year, $442,603 National Science Foundation project grant supports research at the University of California, Los Angeles to advance prosthetic suspension systems for persons with limb amputations. Specifically, the Engineering Directorate award will fund the development of an adaptive fixation strategy using electromagnetics to transmit loads from prosthetic limbs directly to residual bone. Key goals include measuring force requirements for above-elbow prostheses, determining...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Integrative Activities program (CFDA 47.083) aims to develop 2D auxetic lattice actuators that transfer functional shape memory deformations from shape memory alloy (SMA) backbones to surrounding elastomers. The $222,890 project, awarded to the University of Southern Maine, will leverage laser micromachining to create innovative SMA geometries that enable 2D actuation for soft robotics applications. The effort will utilize...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Engineering (CFDA 47.041) EAGER grant to Northeastern University provides $229,680 from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2025 to evaluate the feasibility of a soft and compressible electronic skin (e-skin) device that integrates a touch sensor with a soft electromagnetic coil-based flexible actuator. The goal is to replicate natural skin characteristics, including receptors embedded in soft tissue tightly coupled with muscles, to enable...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $279,788 Early-Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) under the Engineering (CFDA 47.041) program to the University of Pittsburgh. This EAGER award supports research to demonstrate 3D printing of polymeric materials that can transport charges and function as artificial muscles, converting thermal energy into mechanical work. The research aims to align ionic species within a printed polymer network to enable multifunctional components for...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering program has awarded the University of Notre Dame a $357,240 project grant to develop innovative prosthetic limb technologies. This collaborative research project between Notre Dame and Brigham Young University aims to integrate optimal function and compliant mechanisms for improving the capabilities and accessibility of lower-limb powered prostheses. The key objectives are to: 1) create a robust optimization framework to design parallel springs...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $273,563 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant to Medicarbone Inc. under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program. The objective of this 12-month project is to design, develop, and demonstrate the feasibility of a minimally-invasive intramedullary (IM) sleeve system with an in situ, photocurable, and removable polymeric bone cement for the treatment of orthopedic fractures. The project aims to address...