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Robotic Hands Grip Without Fingers
sciencehabit writes "Physicists have designed a robotic hand that doesn't have fingers, yet can still serve drinks and draw pictures. The hand is a thin, rubber sack filled with coffee grains or small glass spheres. When it comes into contact with an object, a small pipe sucks air from the sack, causing it to contract and mold to the object's shape. As long as the gripper can fold about one-fourth of the object's surface, it can pick up just about any shape thrown in its path. The article includes a video of the hand in action."
Would - you - like - some - more?
...can still serve drinks...filled with coffee grains or small glass spheres.
I think I'll pass...I'd rather have a barista who doesn't confuse coffee with marbles.
Oh shit, it drew a square!
Having a moldable hand that could hold a fork or swipe a credit card could drastically improve the quality of life for the tens of thousands of patients in the United States who have lost an arm.
Why can't they use their other arm?
The Daleks built an empire armed with a zap gun and a plunger...
"Physicists have designed a robotic hand that ... can ... serve drinks"
The future of robotics is bright indeed.
That's pretty freaking awesome.
The real advances toward powered flight were when we stopped trying to imitate nature and go in a different direction.
What doesn't kill you only delays the inevitable
"No more fantasies about robotic hand-jobs in the future now."
It WOULD, however, make a magnificent penis implant.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
An excerpt from an Investors Presentation...
Presenter: So, as you can see, this technology is leaps and bounds more sophisticated then the current technology. The advantages for amputees cannot be overstated, the device allows for the easy grasp of such items as food utensils, telephones in time of emergenc...
Investor: Excuse me. A question. Would an amputee be able to open a wallet?
Presenter: Well...I, ummm. I think that might be, well, a bit difficult as the tech stands, in it's current form...but..
Investor: What about a credit card? Could they swipe a credit card? Could they do that?
Presenter: *sigh* Yes...I suppose they could swipe a credit card. I think that would be possible...yes.
Investor: How about mortgage documents? Can they hold a pen?
Now we know what the center of that Katamari is.
This is very clever. Vacuum pickers have been around for most of a century; they first appeared for paper handling in printing presses But they're usually flat, or at best, they have a foam or sponge front, so they can deal with some irregularities in the object being lifted. This is the first one I've seen that can grip around something. The clever part is that the flexible vacuum bag is filled with small objects that keep the bag size almost constant even when vacuum is applied. In operation, I presume it is used by pushing the gripper into wrapping around the object.
The usual vacuum picker problems apply. If only part of the bag (which has a pattern of small holes) is in contact with the object, the rest of the bag leaks. So the vacuum system has to extract a lot of wasted air to keep the pressure inside the system low. This limits the strength of the grip. It's also going to be noisy, probably about as noisy as the business end of a vacuum cleaner.
This definitely has applications in industrial automation where soft objects are being handled. It may be useful for fruit picking and clothing assembly, which are still too labor-intensive.
I wonder if it would be possible to co-opt the tech into what are the fleshy pads of the fingers and palms in a human hand, kind of a mini version of the one described. Then you would be able to use it to increase grip but maintain the familiar hand structure; also might be able to use the measurement of the degree of vacuum to detect when to stop exerting the closing force of the 'fingers'. Would be able to help with the 'can crush as steel girder but can't pick up an egg' issue.
On the one hand, it's impressive, and a good/fresh idea: flexible gripping without opposable thumbs.
On the other hand, its use is limited in a world where opposable thumbs and fingers is the norm, and I bet that doorknobs won't be that easy to turn.
On the gripping hand, it's something that's needed and could/would be cheap technology put in good use; I'm talking about prosthetics, not robots, obviously.
I speak England very best
It cartainly cannot pick a nose... so that robot better not get a virus.
The real reason dogs lick their balls: they can't make a fist.
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