Thursday, July 24, 2008
Advanced Robotic Hand Mimics Human's
A Sensopac hand can grasp an egg, snap its fingers, and carry coffee.
By Kristina Grifantini
A European project called Sensopac, made up of 12
groups, came out today with advances in its robot hand. The hand mimics the
flexibility and sensitivity of a human hand and is controlled by a neural-network-based
program modeled on the cerebellum.
Scientists at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) made a
robotic "skin" out of a thin, flexible carbon that changes its resistance depending
on pressure. This allows the robot hand to tell the shapes of an object, the
amount of force placed upon it, and the direction of that force. Thirty-eight
opposing motors control the hand's joints, giving it a touch that ranges from
light to forceful. The
researchers modeled the robot hand by utilizing hundreds of MRI images of human
hands.
As for the robot's learning ability, the team hopes to
improve its understanding of movement and sensation through its neural network.
When the robot picks up a cup, it will be able to sense the properties within
and adjust its motions depending on whether the cup contains water or flour,
for example.
Sensopac, which began in 2006, is a four-year project
focused on creating an artificially intelligent robot with sophisticated hand
manipulation and grasping abilities.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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