The Ajou University in South Korea has created a robotic hand that can hold fragile objects. It can crush cans and work with tools.
An article was published in Nature about the new technology. It is just under two and a half pounds and eight and a half inches in length. Its combination of strength, delicacy, and flexibility is its most striking feature.
The device is made of steel and aluminum, and each finger is powered by three small motors in the palm. There are 20 joints, and there are metal parts around them.
The robotic hand has a similar range of motion to a human hand, allowing it to hold eggs, lift dumbbells, and handle tweezers.
The team claims that the hand can pour drinks, hold an egg, and crush cans.
The hand can carry out delicate tasks using tools. It can cut paper with scissors and place a chip on a circuit board.
Kim told the New Scientist that the greatest strength of the robotic hand is that it is easy to attach to existing commercial robot arms.
The robotic hand is reliable. The team made one of the fingers push down on a sensor for half an hour. The finger's force barely weakened during that time.
The hand could lift a dumbbell.
A lighter version of the device could be used as an advanced artificial limb, while this version could be integrated into a robot that uses artificial intelligence.
An artificial skin for the hand is being planned so that it can mimic the feel of a human's hand.
