In a split second before you reach to pick up an object, your brain pre-calculates all the movements needed to safely reach and grasp it securely. A company called Festo’s new BionicSoftHand is not only remarkably dextrous, but using AI, it figures out how to properly hold and manipulate an object before it makes any actual movements. Festo’s new BionicSoftHand doesn’t have a stiff skeletal structure inside. It instead features a series of inflatable bellows surrounded by a fabric skin knitted from elastic fibers that move and flex along with the hand’s motions as air is pumped in to create movement. It works similar to the muscle and tendon system the human hand uses, but the soft components mean it’s much safer for humans to directly interact with it.
The BionicSoftHand’s digits are also equipped with inertial (movement) and force sensors, facilitated through the use of flexible circuit boards and wiring that won’t snap when deformed. These sensors provide feedback to the robot’s control systems about when the hand and digits are moving, but also when they’ve stopped, indicating that contact has been made with an object, or that an object is in a position where it can’t be further moved. They essentially provide a sense of touch, which is important given this robot hand’s other abilities. The cost to design, develop, and program an industrial robot to perform just a single task in a factory is extensive, but this self-learning approach means just a single robot could help out with countless tasks around the house.
Credits:
https://gizmodo.com/this-remarkably-agile-robot-hand-teaches-itself-how-to-1832960417
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