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Clever Artificial Hand Developed

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the sound-of-one-hand-closing dept.

AccUser writes "The BBC is reporting that scientists have developed an ultra-light limb that they claim can mimic the movement in a real hand better than any currently available. Researcher Dr Paul Chappell, a medical physicist who worked on the device, said, 'With this hand you can clutch objects such as a ball, you can move the thumb out to one side and grip objects with the index finger in the way you do when opening a lock with a key, and you can wrap your fingers around an object in what we call the power grip - like the one you use when you hold a hammer or a microphone.'"

11 of 195 comments (clear)

  1. The hand is not the optimal holding shape by ReformedExCon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I imagine something more along the lines of a malleable gel or putty that can form any shape thereby increasing contact surface area and making the grip stronger without increasing the amount of force on the object. It could hold an egg just as easily as an I-beam.

    They are looking to mimic humans, but I doubt human form is the most efficient and adaptable. A blob-like form consisting of millions of nanobots working together, sometimes loosely, sometimes in a tight lattice, would make much more sense as it could take on any form and be solid or "liquid" at any given time.

    --
    Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.
    1. Re:The hand is not the optimal holding shape by lightyear4 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      A far better analog to the human hand is located here. The robotics folks over at Shadow really know what they're doing (check the videos). As anyone who checks the Shadow site will see, TFA's "clever artificial hand" does not win the prize for "the first artificially-made opposable thumb." Interesting nevertheless..if only we could see some realworld applications..

    2. Re:The hand is not the optimal holding shape by AGMW · · Score: 4, Interesting
      The hand is an assistive technology, true, but the goal should be that it "just works" and does so as unobtrusively as possible, so that it doesn't stick out any more than, say, glasses, contacts, cochlear implants, or hearing aids.

      Interesting that you include hearing aids in that list. I've wondered about this for a few years, on and off (I really should get out more), but while glasses have become fashion items, and people with good eyesight will use glasses to help them further (eg sunglasses), you don't see people using hearing aids unless they really have to!

      ... and what about some sense of fashion for hearing aids? Sure, they are becoming smaller and smaller, but this is just to allow them to be hidden.

      I have partial hearing loss and wouldn't even think of using a hearing aid, but anyone with slightly wonky eyes will get themselves some glasses.

      How about hearing aids for people with good hearing, for use at the cinema or theatre, that would filter out the dim-wits with their mobile phones and packets of crisps?
      How about a device to wear at the Pub which can allow you to filter out the background noise and actually hear, and converse with, your friends?

      I reckon there's a long way to go before hearing aids can be mentioned in the same sentence as glasses!

      --
      Eclectic beats from Leeds, UK
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    3. Re:The hand is not the optimal holding shape by stuckinarut · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Someone is already thinking about this ...

      Deaf charity wants high fashion hearing aids

      The Victoria & Albert Museum in London is hosting an exhibition of high-fashion hearing aids, called Hearwear, in a bid to rehabilitate the devices and make them seem more attractive to those who might need them.

    4. Re:The hand is not the optimal holding shape by utexaspunk · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I think it's a matter of time before hearing aids become commonplace. Of course, they won't be called hearing aids- they'll be called wireless ear buds.

      I imagine some wireless buds where, by turning the bezel of the watch they come with, you can adjust the mix between outside noise and other sources (phone, music, computer, etc). The watch would also function as a display for various info in addition to the time- Caller ID, song titles, etc.

      Of course, the new can of worms this would open would be people recording conversations all the time.

    5. Re:The hand is not the optimal holding shape by CODiNE · · Score: 2, Interesting

      How about hearing aids for people with good hearing, for use at the cinema or theatre

      I'm not sure if you're intentionally leaving them out but most theaters already have little headsets you can borrow for any movie. Some require holding your license til it's over, depends where you are. Also they have to remember to turn on a transmitter upstairs before the movie starts or you'll just get static.

      In addition I've heard of two other things but haven't been able to verify anyplace that has them yet. One is a plexiglass plate that hooks into your cupholders and reflects subtitles being displayed somewhere in the back of the room. The other is that apparently any digital theatre can at will turn on subtitles just like a DVD. You have to request it in advance and obviously they don't want everybody knowing about this since it's likely to annoy a lot of folks when every movie they go to starts having this. Heheh... guess I spilled the beans. Sorry. >:-)

      --
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  2. Very Promising Future of Prosthetics... by Nerd+Systems · · Score: 4, Interesting
    This hand looks very promising... am sure that it will make many amputees happy as it can more closely resemble the human hand... just curious how much longer till the entire human hand can be duplicated totally... much less other body parts...

    I wonder how well someone could type with this hand though, am sure that hunting and pecking would work fine, but since this is controlled by the muscles in the arm, not so sure how efficient typing might be with this hand...

    One way to accessorize this hand might be to encase it in a skin toned covering, to more realistically mimic a human hand, and at least to not be so ovbious as this hand is...

    Overall this looks like a good step forward in prosthetics... soon people who are unfortunate enough to lose a limb, will be able to lead more normal lives... this is wonderful.

    --
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    Nerd Systems
  3. How does the user control it? by Vorondil28 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    But the University of Southampton team has designed a prototype that uses six sets of motors and gears so each of the five fingers can move independently.

    So you've got a prosthetic hand with fully functioning fingers... How does the user of the hand control six, separate motors?

    --
    This sig rocks the casbah.
  4. opposable thumb by layer3switch · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The wonder never seizes to amaze me...

    The biggest question; as more sophisticate motorized artificial limb gets, more sensitive sensor to control it requires.

    If the question above is solved with "clever" routine to detect movement in sync with rest of fingers (ie. gripping torch.. hem or just giving thumbs up or middle finger), I'm assuming most basic movement will be predetermined/predefined according to how the sensor detects the motion or object by means of basic push/pull mechanism from wrist muscle.

    If then (and I said "IF"), won't it be more "clever"-er to have prosthetic controlled by nerve?

    For example, MES Robotics has pretty nice pictures of future projects regarding similar concept.
    http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~matsh/591188/
    (oh and yes, the arm does look like something out of Terminator 2 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103064/)

    --
    "Don't let fools fool you. They are the clever ones."
  5. It;s not the hand... by Sooner+Boomer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It's not the hand, or motor/servo, or interface that needs improving, it's the Power Source ! Without long-lasting (much better than iPod!) batteries, this technology will go nowhere. I did research in prosthetics back in '75 and won quite a few awards and acclaim for the work, but had the same problem. One solution that was presented back then, but not much work has been done on it since, is a blood-powered fuel cell. It is implanted in the body and derives power from sugar and oxygen. Next best thing would be a pee-powered battery (grin).

    --
    Chaos maximizes locally around me.
  6. Shadow's hand *not* for people to wear by RealisticCanadian · · Score: 2, Interesting
    You really need to pay some attention before spewing forth about other developments.

    If you'd actually been paying attention you'd have noticed that the "Shadow Hand" is a prototype for industrial applications and such. Not medicine.

    While their products is also sweet, it is NOT something to compare to prosthetics. That puppy comes with a large pneumatic cylinder attached... might make it a *tad* conspicuous out and about.

    Nice try tho. :^)

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