ORU Alum's Award-Winning Prosthetic Arm

One of ORU’s very own, Brennan Harrup, won a big award at the International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition (IMECE) in Phoenix, Arizona in November. He won second place for his exceptional senior design project of a robotic arm. The competition showcases some of the best up and coming engineers throughout the globe.

Harrup’s design was inspired by a young girl from his home church that was born without most of her forearm. He wanted to make an arm that would be beneficial “to kids from families of limited means everywhere”, as well as one that would be fun for a child to wear.

“We made the arm so that, first off, a kid would enjoy wearing and using it,” says Harrup. He points out some kids who get prosthetics don’t wear them because they feel insecure wearing them. “We made it paintable, so that the kid could choose a theme, and we made it as proportional as we could to a human hand,” says Harrup.

Harrup’s arm is also a lot cheaper. His estimated cost was $330 compared to a minimum of $100,000 that it normally costs to purchase a modern commercial electronic arm.

Not only is the arm more affordable and paintable, it is also functional. It is equipped with gripping fingers that are controlled by a muscle sensor. The fingers are strong enough to pick up a water bottle when a specific muscle in the shoulder is flexed. The wrist of the arm also rotates and is controlled by two buttons.

Harrup and two other students, Ahn Tran and Isaac Sandoval, were able to finish the final design for the arm in just over three months as part of their Engineering Senior Research and Design class.  

Harrup recently talked with ORU University Relations about his project.