The Making of TF8 a Reaction-Force Series Elastic Actuator Powered Knee and Ankle Prosthesis

My PhD at MIT Media Lab has been the design and build of a next generation powered prosthesis. The bionic ankle, named TF8, was designed to provide biologically equivalent power and range of motion for plantarflexion-dorsiflexion. This video shows the process of going from a blank sheet of paper to people walking on it. Shown are three different people wearing the robot. About a dozen people have since been able to test the hardware. Publications are in process and the pre-prints can be found at the following links: 1. Energetic Consequences of Series and Parallel Springs in Lower-Extremity Powered Prostheses. https://engrxiv.org/swt34/ 2. Design and Preliminary Results of a Reaction Force Series Elastic Actuator for Bionic Knee and Ankle Prostheses. https://engrxiv.org/3wt5j/