Bionic hand can be updated with new gestures, anytime, anywhere
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[August 16, 2022]
By Paul Sandle
LEEDS, England (Reuters) - Australian
swimmer Jessica Smith has had an uneasy relationship with prosthetics
since a childhood accident, but her convictions are being challenged by
a British bionic hand that can be updated remotely anywhere in the
world.
The 2004 Athens Paralympian was born without a left hand.
Her parents were advised to fit a prosthesis to help with her
development, but the device caused her to upset a boiling kettle when
she was a toddler, causing burns to 15% of her body.
"There's always been an association between the fact this prosthetic aid
didn't actually help, it created the most traumatic event in my life,"
she said.
But her curiosity was sparked when she was approached by Covvi, based in
Leeds, northern England, to try its Nexus hand.
Knowing it would be an emotional challenge, Smith was fitted with the
device in April at the age of 37. "I think that I was ready to try
something like this," she said.
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Bionic hands convert electrical impulses from the muscles in the upper
arm into movement powered by motors in the hand, enabling a user to hold
a glass, open a door or pick up an egg.
Simon Pollard, who founded Covvi five years ago, said he wanted to add
bluetooth to the device to allow the company's specialists to update it
via an app.
"The fact we can change some of the things that the customer wants
remotely is a really powerful thing and a first to market," the chief
executive said.
Some rival bionic hands can be app-controlled, but Pollard said the
ability to talk to a single device set the Nexus apart.
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![](../images/081622PIX/news_g11.jpg)
COVVI Group CEO Simon Pollard holds the
bionic hand developed by COVVI, at Quayside Business Park in Leeds,
Britain August 11, 2022. REUTERS/Craig Brough
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Aug/16/images/ads/current/graue_preowned_081322.jpg)
To do that anonymised data is collected for every user, a task
managed by partner NetApp.
Pollard said Covvi had signed up 27 distributors globally, including
in Australia, China and the United States, and he aimed to increase
monthly production to 100.
Smith, who is a speaker and children's author, said Covvi was
already creating new movements for her.
"I've had a few kids ask if I can do different hand gestures, some
polite some not so polite," she said. "I asked Covvi this morning,
and I know that will be done in the next couple of hours."
She said the tech was not just changing her life, it was changing
the lives of her three children.
"They think it's amazing and I'm like half human-half robot," she
said.
She said the "bionic" appearance of the hand was an attraction,
given her pride in difference.
"I'm not trying to hide who I am," she said. "I'm adding and
expanding on who I am by being able to access technology that's
never been available before."
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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