Matt Hyatt, Dan Arnett and Adam Riddle at the work station.
began testing the prototype. The Myo interface displayed the
muscles being used and the prosthetic replicated his gestures, but
the system required a lot of fine-tuning and adjustments over the
following six months to make the device work accurately. Since
Arnett and Riddle are both computer programmers, this proved
to be a great learning experience for Matthew.
Today Riddle has a working hand, and the goal of creating a
lightweight prosthetic that is practical and extremely affordable
was achieved.
Matthew says the team plans to continue to develop the
project since their goal is to share their data and work, so others
can replicate and expand upon it.
“We are
thankful for Mark
Kowatic, from
Hanger Clinic
in Pittsburgh,
who helped start
this project and
introduced us to
Branden Petersen,”
says Matthew. “We
are also grateful
for the staff at
BoXZY, as well
as Bits to Pieces,
for their generous
donations and
support.”
About the Team
Matthew Hyatt is a student at Upper St. Clair High School
and the co-founder of Team RobotiX, a nonprofit STEAM
organization that focuses on robotics education (visit
teamrobotix.com). In addition to being a member of a robotics
team, he also co-teaches robotics workshops for K-8th grade
students. He has experience with computer-aided design (CAD),
3D printing, CNC milling, building and programming.
Matthew’s mentor, Dan Arnett, is a research assistant at
Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute and a graduate
student in the robotics program. He is also working on a project
with Astrobotic Technologies and serving as a mentor for
Matthew’s robotics
team, teaching
advanced Java
programming.
Adam Riddle
has degrees in
computer science,
history, and
philosophy from
Slippery Rock
University. He is a
volunteer for Team
RobotiX, teaching
Introduction
to Java for new
members. n
Matt Hyatt’s fits Adam Riddle with his new hand.
Upper St. Clair | Fall 2017 | icmags.com 27