The marvel of smart bionic arms: How Xu Jialing lit the main torch

Xu Jialing, a member of the Chinese swimming team, donned a smart bionic arm as the final torchbearer at the opening ceremony of the Hangzhou Asian Para Games on Oct 22, leaving spectators in awe.

She skillfully maneuvered her artificial hand to grasp the torch, igniting the flame.

Xu lost her left arm in a car accident at the age of five and had previously used traditional prosthetic arms, operated through conventional hand gestures. This time, technology lent her a "helping hand".

Smart bionic arms differ fundamentally from traditional mechanical prosthetic limbs, employing a brain-machine interface technology-based interaction system, which allows for precise recognition of the user's intended movements, granting upper-limb amputees control just like their original hand.

The 2.0 version of Xu's custom smart bionic arm features a "skin" in dark gray, with a carbon fiber material accepting chamber. Weighing around 500 grams, the arm can lift objects weighing up to 30 kg at once and generate a gripping force of 5 kg. It also possesses 10 articulation joints and six degrees of freedom, allowing independent movement of the five fingers and collaborative actions between them.

The arm can easily perform various gestures like five-finger grip, two-finger pinch and three-finger pinch, in addition to everyday actions such as handshakes, writing, eating, drinking, dressing, and exercising.

Once worn, Xu's smart arm can capture faint electromyographic and neural signals on her forearm, recognizing her intended movements. What's more, putting it on or taking it off only takes a few seconds. A single charge can last over 10 hours, and it costs only one fifth of traditional imported smart prosthetic limbs.

During the recent Hangzhou Asian Para Games torch relay, innovative technologies such as smart bionic arms, smart prosthetic legs, and smart guide dogs were integrated into the relay process. This highlighted the idea that "technology changes lives, turning the impossible into the possible," and brings greater convenience to the lives of many people with disabilities.