The field of robotics has made great progress in recent years, but designing a robotic hand that has the dexterity and versatility of the human hand still represents a huge challenge. While multi-fingered robotic hands have succeeded in working in different environments; Like factories and hospitals, they completely fail to emulate the “ingenuity of the human hand.”
But researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States succeeded in creating an articulated robotic hand. It can effectively handle various daily manipulation and grasping tasks, close to the human hand.
In recent years, roboticists have developed increasingly sophisticated robotic systems designed to mimic the structure and function of the human body.
Manufacturing traditional robotic hands with the capabilities to perform various tasks may require a large number of motors, complex mechanical designs, and significant manufacturing and maintenance expenses. Achieving human-like dexterity while maintaining affordability has remained an elusive goal.
Ideally, robotic hands should be able to perform very precise movements, while maintaining a relatively low manufacturing cost.
But most of the bio-inspired structures for robotic hands presented so far have very complex designs, incorporating many advanced components, making them difficult to manufacture on a large scale.
New mechanism
MIT researchers have succeeded in creating a new, high-precision mechanism that manufactures the robotic hand using a concept known as “modular architecture.”
This concept means that there are multiple building blocks that can be rearranged to achieve different movements. Using that concept; Researchers have created a flexible robotic hand that does not require complex components.
The new hand can perform more advanced movements than traditional robotic hands. The new hand was designed by adapting a number of soft biomaterials and hard elements. The sensor was also integrated into the solid part of the hand, which resembles the bones of the human hand, which led to a simple way to estimate the position of the hand with high sensitivity.
The modular robotic hand can easily be adapted to better suit different applications. For example, researchers can choose to add or remove fingers and arrange their components differently to enhance their performance in specific scenarios.
The new hand can be programmed easily and quickly, manufactured with low-cost materials, and assembled in an efficient manner. One of the main advantages of this hybrid design is modularity, as the robotic hand is designed in a modular way, which not only simplifies the manufacturing process, but also facilitates rapid programming and customization.
Researchers and engineers can easily replace or upgrade individual modules, reducing downtime and enhancing hand adaptability.
The “bones” that make up the skeleton of the hand can be 3D printed, while the magnets, sensors and cables inside are readily available on the market.
To create the skin surrounding the bones, the team used a simple two-step molding process: They first created different mold pieces using 3D printing, and then used these pieces to mold the silicone into the shape of the fingers.
The researchers were able to manufacture a prototype of a hand with five fingers, and evaluated its performance. They found that the hand could successfully perform different types of grasping, replicating the way human hands grasp and hold different objects.
The robotic hand was able to firmly grip many flexible and solid objects of different sizes, including a plastic cup, a pen, and a circular plastic ring.
