It may sound like science fiction. But a San Diego-area startup, which developed an advanced prosthetic hand to help amputees regain movement and touch feedback, is now using that technology to help train robotic arms for delicate manufacturing tasks that traditionally required human workers. PSY ONIC in Rancho Bernardo unveiled a first-of-its-kind partnership Tuesday with ABB Robotics, one of the world’s largest robotics companies, to equip robotic arms with its prosthetic Ability Hand. The goal is to give robots the dexterity needed for complex assembly work, potentially involving irregularly shaped parts. “You just can’t do that with the grippers from like 50 years ago,” said Dr. Aadeel Akhtar, PSYONIC founder and CEO. Akhtar said the technology could help address workforce shortages in several industries. “For us, it’s always been about benefiting humanity,” said Akhtar. “And on the manufacturing side, there’s labor shortages everywhere, especially in automotive and industrial warehouses.” Akhtar founded PSYONIC in 2015 with the goal of creating advanced prosthetic hands that provide users with muscle control and even touch feedback. “We have touch sensors in here that allow users to feel a vibration on their skin whenever they touch an object,” said Akhtar, adding that the Ability Hand is the first prosthetic hand to do offer that technology. About 300 amputees currently use the device. One of them is Dale DiMassi. He was born without a hand. He said PSYONIC’s Ability Hand is the first prosthetic he has wanted to use in three decades. “My experience prior had just been devices that were really limited,” said DiMassi. He said the Ability Hand stood out because of its speed and movement. “So what really caught my attention was the fact that, just the way the hand articulates, how fast it is,” said DiMassi. DiMassi now serves as PSYONIC’s creative marketing manager, helping other amputees understand what the technology can offer. A biotic hand is shown attached to a robotic arm working together in this undated image. “I’m able to genuinely talk to people, you know, about my experience and see if, you know, something like this might be a good fit for them, help them through their journey,” DiMassi said. DiMassi’s work now also includes training robots. DiMassi demonstrated how he could use a drill with his prosthetic hand to allow engineers to collect movement data and teach a robotic arm to perform the same task. “We can collect data directly from the hand and have the robot perform the same actions one-to-one,” said DiMassi. The company said its technology is already used by 90 organizations, including NASA and Google. PSYONIC is also working on future generations of prosthetic devices through a U.S. military grant in collaboration with UC San Diego and Naval Medical Center San Diego. “And we’re working with UCSD and the Naval hospital here in San Diego on the next generation of these devices that are going to be directly connected to your muscles, your bones, and your nerves to enable individual finger control and touch sensation that feels like it’s coming from your missing hand,” said Akhtar. The company has expanded from just seven employees three years ago to 50 employees currently. It plans to nearly triple that number in the next year and a half. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less