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Japan’s Exiii unveils prototype of haptic VR device

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See the original story in Japanese. Japanese device startup Exiii, well known for its open-source electric-powered prosthetic hands HACKberry, produced using a 3D printer, this week announced the haptic device Exos as its new product under development. Exos applies pressure directly unto the users’ hand via a built-in motor, to enable users gaining the sensation of touching a virtual object with their hand. This technology is seen being applied to VR (virtual reality) games and robot remote controls, in addition to use in rehabilitation programs for hand movements or the like. See also: Japan’s functional prosthetic hand Handiii beats funding goal in five days Japan’s Exiii unveils teaser page for functional prosthetic hand Along with the boom in VR (virtual reality) / AR (augmented reality) technologies, various devices providing immersive feel for the virtual space have been surfacing. Among these, products focused on the visual sense have recently become attention-grabbers, such as the first-generation device as exemplified by Oculus, which became affiliated with Facebook last year. Since hepatic sense devices are considered to be the next generation following in the visual ones’ footsteps, some projects like UnlimitedHand are now in progress in Japan. See also: Japan’s H2L unveils haptic wearable…

Image credit: Exiii

See the original story in Japanese.

Japanese device startup Exiii, well known for its open-source electric-powered prosthetic hands HACKberry, produced using a 3D printer, this week announced the haptic device Exos as its new product under development.

Exos applies pressure directly unto the users’ hand via a built-in motor, to enable users gaining the sensation of touching a virtual object with their hand. This technology is seen being applied to VR (virtual reality) games and robot remote controls, in addition to use in rehabilitation programs for hand movements or the like.

See also:

Image credit: Exiii

Along with the boom in VR (virtual reality) / AR (augmented reality) technologies, various devices providing immersive feel for the virtual space have been surfacing. Among these, products focused on the visual sense have recently become attention-grabbers, such as the first-generation device as exemplified by Oculus, which became affiliated with Facebook last year. Since hepatic sense devices are considered to be the next generation following in the visual ones’ footsteps, some projects like UnlimitedHand are now in progress in Japan.

See also:

Image credit: Exiii

According to Exiii CEO Hiroshi Yamaura, one of the features of Exos is to transmit power unto the users’ hand directly via motors, unlike UnlimitedHand which adopted electric stimulus. It can thus provide a more realistic sense of touching which cannot be realized with vibration or other methods.

However, it is still under development so the unveiled design was the best possible at present, says Yamarura. Some systems adjustments will be required in the future, such as delay reductions upon communicating information to devices when users touch objects in VR space.

Therefore, the firm looks to gather user companies that wish to provide apps using Exos based on its concept announced this time. By the way, when I asked Yamaura about the uniqueness or the superiority of his device, he answered that he does not regard imitation or tailgating by other players as much of a problem because the firm owns patents related to mechanism or knowledge obtained through its prosthetic hands development and he himself is an expert of exoskeleton functions.

Image credit: Exiii

Unfortunately, I could not actually wear and try this device at this time. I cannot say anything definite about how much this device will give us an impression at present but expect that it is not just a conceptual product, judging from the firm’s background of prosthetic hands development and the demonstration video of the prototype.

On the other hand, the actual usage scene / environment for Exos appears to depend on the app developers. It is hoped that the device will be put into production within two or three years when the VR market is expected to become a very active one.

Translated by Taijiro Takeda
Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

Japan’s functional prosthetic hand Handiii beats funding goal in five days

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This is the abridged version of our original article in Japanese. Tokyo-based Exiii, a company that develops functional prosthetic hand Handiii, started its crowdfunding campaign on Japanese crowdfunding site Kibidango on Monday, and has reached the funding goal of 1 million yen (about $8,400) in only five days. See also: Japan’s Exiii unveils teaser page for functional prosthetic hand In view of Japanese startups developing assistive devices, Whill, the Japanese startup behind the smart wheelchair under the same name, got its start by raising money on Japanese crowdfunding site Campfire. Having introduced its first prototype in late 2011, Whill was qualified by 500 Startups to join its incubation program and subsequently secured two major funding rounds from investors. The company aims to ship 2,000 wheelchairs by the end of 2015. The Exiii team is developing the second-generation model of the prosthetic hand series called Handiii Coyote. At the Maker Faire event recently held in Tokyo, their clinical trial user Mr. Morikawa demonstrated the prototype. He is expected to use the device developed through the crowdfunding campaign. Exiii CEO Genta Kondo spoke about their work: While the previous device needed to be operated by our development team rather than the user,…

Handiii Coyote
Handiii Coyote

This is the abridged version of our original article in Japanese.

Tokyo-based Exiii, a company that develops functional prosthetic hand Handiii, started its crowdfunding campaign on Japanese crowdfunding site Kibidango on Monday, and has reached the funding goal of 1 million yen (about $8,400) in only five days.

See also:

In view of Japanese startups developing assistive devices, Whill, the Japanese startup behind the smart wheelchair under the same name, got its start by raising money on Japanese crowdfunding site Campfire. Having introduced its first prototype in late 2011, Whill was qualified by 500 Startups to join its incubation program and subsequently secured two major funding rounds from investors. The company aims to ship 2,000 wheelchairs by the end of 2015.

Mr. Morikawa demonstrates Exiii Coyote at Maker Faire Tokyo.
Mr. Morikawa demonstrates Exiii Coyote at Maker Faire Tokyo.

The Exiii team is developing the second-generation model of the prosthetic hand series called Handiii Coyote. At the Maker Faire event recently held in Tokyo, their clinical trial user Mr. Morikawa demonstrated the prototype. He is expected to use the device developed through the crowdfunding campaign.

Exiii CEO Genta Kondo spoke about their work:

While the previous device needed to be operated by our development team rather than the user, the new device can be controlled entirely by the user. Thanks to Mr. Morikawa, who demonstrated the device by controlling it himself, it drew great interest from the audience at the Maker Faire event.

Mr. Morikawa only spent about 10 minutes to learn how to use the prosthetic hand. Thanks to Mr. Morikawa’s demonstration, I think that he will help us close the gap between handicapped and non-handicapped people.

There are 53 days more to go until the crowdfunding campaign closes, so it will be interesting to see how much money Exiii manages to raise.

Japan’s Exiii unveils teaser page for functional prosthetic hand

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See the original story in Japanese. Handiii (previously known as Handie) is a prosthetic hand developed by an engineering team called Exiii, which wants to make people’s daily lives more enjoyable with robotics and designs. The team published a teaser page for a crowdfunding campaign for the device on Kibidango, a Japanese crowdfunding site. See also: Handie: An affordable, functional prosthetic hand, made in Japan with 3D printing The Exiii team has set the concept of this product as a ‘casual option’ aiming to make people consider it as something more common like a watch or a shoe rather than a assistive product. They have won the second prize at James Dyson Award 2013 and also the top prize at Gugen hardware contest in Tokyo. The team has to date developed four generations of the prototype (see picture below). But there’s a huge gap between the demonstration and practical application. That’s why they are currently working toward practical use of the device in partnership with potential users and medical institutions; the crowdfunding campaign is also part of these efforts.

140718handrender_w1

See the original story in Japanese.

Handiii (previously known as Handie) is a prosthetic hand developed by an engineering team called Exiii, which wants to make people’s daily lives more enjoyable with robotics and designs. The team published a teaser page for a crowdfunding campaign for the device on Kibidango, a Japanese crowdfunding site.

See also:

The Exiii team has set the concept of this product as a ‘casual option’ aiming to make people consider it as something more common like a watch or a shoe rather than a assistive product. They have won the second prize at James Dyson Award 2013 and also the top prize at Gugen hardware contest in Tokyo.

The team has to date developed four generations of the prototype (see picture below). But there’s a huge gap between the demonstration and practical application. That’s why they are currently working toward practical use of the device in partnership with potential users and medical institutions; the crowdfunding campaign is also part of these efforts.

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