408: S/N Improvement of Nanotube Hand Grabber Prototype (Multidisciplinary Team)

Our goal was to improve physical therapy and enhance overall quality of life by utilizing wearable technology. We designed a glove with integrated sensors that detected various finger movements by improving the proof-of-concept design of wearable technology gloves equipped with patented (US Patent #US20210239548A1) Bucky Paper sensors developed by a previous team. This technology offered potential benefits to the medical and robotics fields. While the current technology already provided benefits such as a low-profile form, lightweight construction, high sensitivity and flexibility, we enhanced its overall performance. We explored the Signal-to-Noise (S/N) ratio and determined it was high enough to potentially provide accuracy and reliability. We improved the circuit by adding all five digits and upgrading to a data acquisition system (DAQ), which enabled us to include the whole hand. We designed a dashboard to visualize collected data for interpretation. Additionally, we created a financial Monte Carlo simulation to visually convey the value proposition of the sensors to potential collaborators or stakeholders. By building upon the existing design, we developed an upgraded glove that maximized functionality and user comfort.