About OpenMuscle
The Origin Story
OpenMuscle started with a story that Tory couldn't shake: an amputee who was fitted for a prosthetic hand but couldn't take it home because of proprietary restrictions on the technology. The sensors, the software, the control systems — all locked behind corporate walls.
That moment was the catalyst. Tory, a self-taught hardware engineer, decided that prosthetic sensor technology needed to be free. Not free as in "free trial" — free as in free for all humanity, forever, under open licenses that ensure no corporation can ever lock it away again.
Instead of using expensive EMG sensors that pick up electrical noise, OpenMuscle takes a different approach: pressure myography. Simple, affordable pressure sensors detect the physical topology changes of forearm muscles during contraction. Combined with machine learning, this can predict individual finger movements — the key to controlling a prosthetic hand. And the whole thing costs about $45 in components.
Our Mission
Democratize prosthetic sensor technology. Build affordable, open-source, open-hardware pressure myography sensors that anyone can build, modify, and improve. Every design file, every line of code, every dataset is published openly under MIT (software), CERN-OHL-S v2.0 (hardware), and Creative Commons (documentation) licenses.
Project Timeline
The Beginning
Tory builds the first OM-12 band with 12 sensors. Open Muscle is born from frustration with proprietary prosthetics. Featured on Hackaday and Electromaker.
LASK & Data Collection
LASK device created for labeled data acquisition. First ML models trained using Random Forest Regressors. Community starts growing.
FlexGrid Development
60-sensor FlexGrid (15x4) designed with flexible PCB and ESP32-S3. LASK5-V3 nears production. VR HID expansion begins.
Scaling Up
Unified software architecture underway. OSHWA certification pursued. New collaborators join including devEco group and C developers.