December 15, 2025

Marshall Trout, a new One-U Responsible AI Initiative postdoctoral fellow, is part of a University of Utah research team that pioneered a new way to improve a commercially available bionic hand for its users. Trout and his advisor, Jacob A. George, added proximity and pressure sensors to the hand and trained an artificial neural network on grasping postures, ultimately developing an approach that is more like the natural, intuitive way we grip objects. When working in tandem with the artificial intelligence, people testing the hand demonstrated greater grip security, greater grip precision, and less cognitive burden.

Read more from the Price College of Engineering and view the news media articles:

• NPR (December 9, 2025): University of Utah engineers build bionic hand with an AI brain
• KSL TV 5 (December 9, 2025): Scientists use AI to help make bionic hands work better for people who need them
• Ars Technica (December 12, 2025): Scientists built an AI co-pilot for prosthetic bionic hands
• The Debrief (December 15, 2025): Bionic Hand With Built-In Artificial Intelligence Moves Closer to Natural Human Function