Robotic hand gets a grip on objects

The wrist-worn device, created at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is said to operate like two extra fingers adjacent to the little finger and thumb.

A novel control algorithm enables it to move in sync with the wearer’s fingers to grasp objects of various shapes and sizes. Wearing the robot, a user could use one hand to hold the base of a bottle while twisting off its cap.

‘This is a completely intuitive and natural way to move your robotic fingers,’ said Harry Asada, the Ford Professor of Engineering in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. ‘You do not need to command the robot, but simply move your fingers naturally. Then the robotic fingers react and assist your fingers.’

In a statement, Asada said that with some training people might come to perceive the robotic fingers as part of their body.

He hopes that the two-fingered robot may assist people with limited dexterity in performing routine household tasks, such as opening jars and lifting heavy objects. He and graduate student Faye Wu presented a paper on the robot this week at the Robotics: Science and Systems conference in Berkeley, California.