About the research

In this work, we propose to make a variable stiffness prosthetic leg where the stiffness is changed in real-time. In general, prosthetic legs have a fixed stiffness, regardless of the activity level of the user. That means that the user has to use a fixed stiffness prosthetic leg for each activity. For example, high stiffness is required for tasks such as running and jumping, while low stiffness is preferred at low every day activity. By integrating smart materials, such as, magnetorheological (MR) fluids or MR solids into the prosthetic leg, the stiffness can be changed adaptively in real-time, depending on the user´s activity. The project is a collaboration between the University of Iceland and Össur. Össur manufactures popular prosthetic feet, made of carbon-fiber which we will use as a base design. In this project, a design is proposed to apply a smart damper in a prototype prosthetic leg with adaptable stiffness. A prototype will be designed, built and tested.

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