Mitra

Mitra is a bionic arm designed for underprivileged children in northwestern India in collaboration with Cadbury’s My First Rakhi initiative. The project focuses on giving an experience of having a limb and sense of touch through a bionic limb and enabling children to experience tactile interaction during Raksha Bandhan, an Indian festival celebrating the bond between siblings. By allowing children to perceive touch through their prosthetic arm, Mitra aims to create a more meaningful and emotionally engaging experience during the ritual of tying the Rakhi[↗]. The lightweight bionic arm consists of two primary components: a functional hand and a custom-fitted socket that attaches to the child’s residual limb. The SLS 3D-printed structure integrates motors, touch and flex sensors, haptic feedback motors, a battery system, and a microcontroller, with finger actuation achieved through a compact worm-wheel mechanism. A key challenge and focus of the project was developing comfortable and accurate socket interfaces for each child. To address individual anatomical variations, each child’s residual limb[↗] was 3D scanned, and the resulting anatomical data was used to design and fabricate customized sockets tailored to their unique anthropometry. Beyond restoring functional capability, Mitra explores the role of sensory feedback in prosthetic embodiment by providing haptic stimulation over the residual limb when the embedded strain sensors detect contact. Through this integration of robotics, digital fabrication, and tactile feedback, the project aims to enhance the emotional, social, and sensory experiences of children living with limb differences with an economical budget.