As the instructor of the class, I brought along a friend to help teach. Her name was Joanne Tilley, a Georgetown-based artist. Tilley wore a black coat and carried a duffle bag. Walking into the classroom, she pulled her coat aside to expose her arm. It was black, made of carbon fibers and ended in a metal hook. Before the collective staring and gasping abated, Tilley asked, “Hey class, who wants to hold my arm first?”

If we like the way two things interact, we might say they work hand in hand. We joke that something costs an arm and a leg when it is out of our reach. For some, the challenges apparent in this physically inspired wordplay are more literal. For those who have lost an arm or a leg — either from birth, through accident or in war — the effortless use of a hand is precisely that which is difficult to achieve.

It is nearly impossible for those of us with two fully functioning hands to imagine what such a loss could mean. The most mundane actions could pose significant challenges, while larger hurdles may pose near insurmountable obstacles.

Historically, solutions for missing limbs have exhibited varying degrees of complexity and varying degrees of success. The archetypal image of a pirate with a wooden leg and a hook for a hand is not so far removed from early prosthetic devices. In developing countries, where the demand for artificial limbs is high due to war, such primitive prosthetics remain the status quo. In Western countries, there are two schools of thought for prosthetic devices: realistic and tool-based. The former approach inspires limbs that work to disguise the fact that they are artificial; flesh-colored silicon surfaces mimic skin texture and hair follicles while lacking functional refinement. Meanwhile, technological improvements have also made it possible to develop myoelectric prostheses, motorized limbs controlled through microchips and electrode sensors. But such sophistication comes with a very high price tag. Furthermore, this technological approach intends to recreate what was lost rather than evolving the definition of a limb. It is possible to mechanically recreate a human hand with five fingers that move realistically, but one might ask if such a complex device is the most effective way for someone to pick up, hold and manipulate objects.

In light of this, Tilley and I challenged the Industrial Design class with a quarter-long project to rethink the traditional definitions of prosthetics and their interaction with the human body. Tilley provided essential feedback, critiques and inspiration.

Students began by acquiring knowledge about current, past and emerging technologies; some went as far as looking at bionic arms in movies. With cardboard tubes and tape wrapped around one hand, students simulated the constraints of wearing a prosthesis. One concept that emerged from this experiment was that of a prosthetic hand as a team player to the existing hand, rather than a stand-in for the lost appendage.

I encouraged students to seek solutions beyond conventional wisdom, finding inspiration in pop culture as well as nature. Instead of concealing prosthetic limbs, function-based aesthetic designs were intended to fill the bearer with pride. White iPod headphones don’t conceal themselves, but flaunt their cool design, and, in turn, make their wearer feel cool. How might a prosthesis operate this way?

After generating sketches, students used threedimensional foam models to hone their designs, refining proportions, form and the transition of surfaces. At the conclusion of the quarter, each student presented a hand-built, full-scale model of his or her design, all of which were exhibited at the UW Jacob Lawrence Gallery, February 19 – 20, 2010.

Student designs were meant to inspire, examining unexplored possibilities of prosthetic design that assist in both the physical functioning and emotional healing relative to limb loss. The intent of this project was to encourage development of the next generation of prosthetic limbs, hopefully inspiring new designs that are functional, elegant and affordable.