Nicolas Huchet is one of ten French winners selected in 2015 by the MIT Technology Review as part of its Innovators Under 35. This recognition pays tribute to the Frenchman's career, which has enabled him to bounce back and transform a fatality into success.
Victim of a work accident in 2002, Nicolas Huchet received at the age of 18 a hand prosthesis that was not very functional and had nothing to do with the one he imagined. More efficient models were developed, but they were still very expensive. He then decided to make his own prosthesis at the FabLab in Rennes, with the help of Hugues Aubin.
He also relies on the open source plans of the InMoov robot developed by Gaël Langevin. As part of the Bionicohand project, he designed the Bionico robotic hand, which can be manufactured by 3D printing, in ABS plastic. His prosthesis is called myoelectric: it is equipped with sensors that detect the contraction of its muscles and transfer these signals to an Arduino board, which in turn activates the fingers of the hand.
Finally, the manufacture of this first prosthesis cost 200 euros, against approximately… 15,000 euros for a classic prosthesis.
Nicolas Huchet is continuing his research to make a more robust hand, whose components would be miniaturized, and which would allow him to grasp and hold objects.
Spoken languages: French, English
