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What would you do with a robotic third thumb?
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Third Thumb: People have no difficulty getting to grips with an extra thumb, study finds
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autoevolution 24 May 2021, 12:31 UTC ·
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A thorough research carried out by the University College London (UCL) in collaboration with Dani Clode Design, wanted to see if our brain can support body augmentation using a robotic finger. That’s where the Third Thumb came in. The Third Thumb is a flexible 3D-printed thumb extension that is controlled wirelessly via two pressure-sensitive sensors attached to the big toes. It was created by the designer Dani Clode and now used by scientists at the UCL to find out how body augmentation is perceived by the human brain.
Researchers tested the Third Thumb over a period of five days in which participants in the study learn to use the appendage for various tasks involving grabbing objects, holding a mug, and more complex activities as well. They all managed to master using the thumb very quickly and, most importantly, started to experiment a sense of embodiment, meaning the thumb started to feel like a natural part of thei
Credit: Dani Clode
Using a robotic Third Thumb can impact how the hand is represented in the brain, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.
The team trained people to use a robotic extra thumb and found they could effectively carry out dextrous tasks, like building a tower of blocks, with one hand (now with two thumbs). The researchers report in the journal
Science Robotics that participants trained to use the thumb also increasingly felt like it was a part of their body.
Designer Dani Clode began developing the device, called the Third Thumb, as part of an award-winning graduate project at the Royal College of Art, seeking to reframe the way we view prosthetics, from replacing a lost function, to an extension of the human body. She was later invited to join Professor Tamar Makin s team of neuroscientists at UCL who were investigating how the brain can adapt to body augmentation.