The growing industry of robotics has led to great advancements in prosthesis research, and this is especially important in developing amputee children. Social interaction has a great impact in children, and with amputee children, it may be difficult for them to feel accepted due to their appearances and limited abilities. With a prosthetic that helps to integrate amputee children into the peer group, either by appearance or functionality, this can greatly increase their self-esteem and confidence. A classic 1963 study by Centers showed that amputee children were unfortunately some of the saddest and most rejected in the classroom.  Recently, case studies by Oregon Health and Science University details how 3D printed prosthetics were raising the confidences of kids by creating customizable prosthetics. Nine-year-old Zachary Pamboukas said when he first wore his printed prosthetic to school, some kids asked, “what is that? Can we feel it?” Overall, this motivated the idea to integrate a fun game with a upper-limb prosthetic for children.

​

We believe that designing an advanced, automatic, and muscle-powered NERF gun will allow amputee children and adults to participate in NERF battles and increase their satisfactions with life. Using EMG sensors to measure the muscle activity of the user, our NERF prosthetic will fire automatically when the user flexes his or her bicep.