If you have a thumb in one hand, your dexterity can be greatly improved, but isn’t it difficult to learn how to use it? According to a new study that the majority of various people solved the problem in just one minute.
We heard about the third thumb for the first time when British designer Danielle Clode made a third thumb with a master’s graduation project from Royal College of Art in London.
At the center of the device is a 3D printed joint thumb itself, which is tied to the user’s right hand and is located on the opposite side of the natural thumb. The cable is connected to a motor module that wears a thump on the wrist, and this motor module is wirelessly connected to two pressure sensors, one under the user’s thumb.
When the toe pressure is applied to the right sensor, the thumb is pulled across the entire hand, while the left sensor is applied to the left sensor and the finger is pulled towards the finger. The larger the toe pressure, the faster the thumb moves. When the toe pressure is placed, the thumb will return to the “home” position.
Dani Claude
Neurological scientists at the University College London contacted Clode for using this device for the third thumb in the news and using this device. In the 2021 study, we recommended 20 volunteers to learn how to use the accessories for five days and practice for 2-6 hours every day. In this study, it showed how the use of the thumb brought about an important change in the brain’s sensory motor activity, but it did not provide much indicators about how well this technology can use this technology.
This is where new research at Cambridge University comes in.
This is based on the data collected when the general public is invited to use the thumb at the Summer Science Exhibition in 2022. In five days, a total of 596 participants were given only a minute to get used to the device. The test targets are known to represent “various demographic backgrounds” and the age ranged from 3 to 96 years old.
Dani Claude
After the 60 -second training session, everyone except four people intentionally moved the thumb. The exceptions were young children who could not put enough pressure on the toes and those who did not fit firmly. In addition, all participants except 13 of the participants were able to manipulate things with their thumbs.
Going to the next level, volunteers were asked to perform two tasks. Certain What to do after one minute orientation. The first of them was to use only the thumb and pick a peg from the Pegboard and put it in a basket and move as many peg as possible within 60 seconds. A total of 333 people participated.
The second work using Thumb With hands Choose and place multiple foam objects of various shapes and sizes and move as many objects as possible within one minute. In this case, 246 people completed the exercise.
Dani Claude
The important thing is that there is no difference in performance between gender, even left -handed and right -handed (despite the fact that the third thumb is used only).
In the “Old Man” group, the performance tended to decrease as I grew older, but there was little difference in the performance of young adults and older people. This may be due to the decrease in sensory exercise and cognitive ability, or it may simply be a problem for the elderly to be less interested in technology.
Further development of the third thumb is expected to help the body not only to improve the health of healthy users, but also to help people who fall in dexterity.
“Augmented is to design a new relationship with technology. It is to create something that expands beyond simple tools.” Clode, a co -worker in the lab of Professor U Cambridge, a senior scientist, says. Tamar Makin. “It is important that the design stage of the wearable technology is as comprehensive as possible, considering the diversity of the body. It is also important that these devices can access and function a wide range of users.”
Recently, a paper on the study has been published in the journal. Science robotics. In the video below, you can see the third thumb actually works.
The third thumb test
Source: Cambridge University
