Robotic Hand Handles Eggs, Runs On Compressed Air
Posted in: R&D and Inventions, Robots, Today's Chili
It can’t arm wrestle yet, but a robotic hand developed by students at Virginia Tech is strong enough to lift a can of food and dexterous enough to handle a raw egg.
It’s a big step for robotic hands, which have so far been hampered by lack of flexibility, forcing them to merely grab objects instead of being able to handle a wide range of textures and motions.
The latest hand, called RAPHaEL (Robotic Air Powered Hand with Elastic Ligaments), is powered by a compressed air tank. A microcontroller helps coordinate the motion of the fingers. The mechanism makes the hand deft enough to gesture for sign language.
The robotic hand’s grip depends on the extent of pressure of the air. A low pressure is used for a lighter grip, while a higher pressure allows for a sturdier grip.
“This air-powered design is what makes the hand unique as it does not require the use of any motors or other actuators,” said Dennis Hong, director and the faculty adviser on the project at the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory of Virgina Tech. “The grasping force and compliance can be easily adjusted by simply changing the air pressure.”
The hand could potentially be used to create robotic prosthetics, though at Virginia Tech it is part of a larger project. The university’s Robotics Lab is working to create a humanoid robot known as CHARLI (Cognitive Humanoid Robot with Learning Intelligence) that will be 5 feet tall and used as a research platform and in robot sports.
The latest version of the robotic hand is expected to be used in the CHARLI robot. Once the newer model hand is connected to the larger body, it will be able to pick up — not just grasp and hold — objects just like a person, says the lab.
Check out this video showing RAPHaEL at work:
Photo: Robotic Hand/Virginia Tech College of Engineering
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