Portable Prosthetic Hand With Soft Pneumatic Fingers

A method of operating a finger actuator comprising:

• providing a first finger actuator secured to a base, wherein the finger actuator comprises:
• a plurality of fluidically interconnected extensible segments separated from adjacent extensible segments by an inextensible hinge, wherein the extensible segments comprise at least one fluidically interconnected inflatable chamber, and
• an inextensible layer connected to the plurality of fluidically interconnected extensible segments at a base of the extensible segments, the inextensible layer comprising a flexible layer having an inextensible material that extends along the length of the plurality of fluidically interconnected extensible segments;
• and
• providing instructions to a valve housed in the base to open, wherein air pressure from an air compressor housed in the base pressurizes at least one finger actuator, thereby causing the finger actuator to bend.