"Flight" Prosthetic Sports Arm Project by paul lighterness from uk

“Flight” Prosthetic Sports Arm Project
The Project is a Sports Arm prosthesis design for the playing of competition level Sitting Volleyball for athletes with upper limb amputation.
Working with Professional players within the sport of Sitting Volleyball the product provides solutions to the key actions required by the given athlete to play competition sport.
The design is fabricated using strong lightweight materials to enable comfort, ease of movement, along with specially designed elements to promote accuracy and quality in the products provision and its key functions.
Materials for the product include a Carbon Fibre socket joint tailored to the individuals classification (Including detachable mechanism), an rolled Aluminium mid-section reminiscent of light weight aircraft construction, as well as a Glass Reinforced Plastic paddle section that is designed in a way to enable the athlete to Serve, Dig and Block the ball by utilising specifically designed sections developed from early research with a key user group of International Athletes. The final foot of the product is a rubber molding that provides grip and enables the athlete to support and move themselves freely across the court.
The product is influenced by lightweight gliders and birds and explores the lightness and freedom that is provided by wings and flight, as well as influencing the streamlined shape and form of the design as well as contributing to the choice of materials used to construct the product.
The product “flight” provides the athlete with freedom of movement about the court, enabling more responsive and targeted performance for the player.