stradavinci

march 2018

role // design, coding + manufacturing

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the ultimate application of 3D-printing has always seemed to revolve around prosthetic design. prosthetics have been designed for athletes, for animals, for general purpose...but what about musicians? would it be possible to create a prosthetic arm that might allow someone to play a string instrument, such as violin or cello?

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as a violinist & engineer, i thought i'd take on the challenge as a personal project. isolating the fine control of a violin bow to more concrete variables - horizontal/vertical tilt, and tightness of grip (how one typically controls spiccato and staccato). after several friday evenings of prototyping in my room, i was able to create a functioning prototype of stradavinci, a prosthetic arm that allows someone to play a string instrument by flexing their toes. i made my design free to use worldwide on thingiverse.

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field notes //

biggest overcome obstacle: understanding the design/human values of a product for a target audience that you cannot fully relate to.