What use is a hand without nerves, that can’t tell what it’s holding?
A hand that lifts a can of soda to your lips, but inadvertently tips or crushes it in the process?
Researchers at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences(SEAS) have developed a very inexpensive tactile sensor for robotic hands that is sensitive enough to turn a brute machine into a dextrous manipulator.
Designed by researchers in the Harvard Biorobotics Laboratory at SEAS, the sensor, called TakkTile, is intended to put what would normally be a high-end technology within the grasp of commercial inventors, teachers, and robotics enthusiasts.
“Despite decades of research, tactile sensing hasn’t moved into general use because it’s been expensive and fragile,” explains co-creator Leif Jentoft, a graduate student at SEAS. “It normally costs about $16,000, give or take, to put tactile sensing on a research robot hand. That’s really limited where people can use it. The traditional technology also uses very specialized construction techniques, which can slow down your work. Now, Takktile changes that because it’s based on much simpler and cheaper fabrication methods.”
TakkTile takes an existing device—a tiny barometer, which senses air pressure—and adds a layer of vacuum-sealed rubber to it, protecting it from as much as 25 pounds of direct pressure. Jentoft and co-creator Yaroslav Tenzer, a postdoctoral fellow, say that the chips can even survive a strike from a hammer or a baseball bat. At the same time, Takktile is sensitive enough to detect a very slight touch.
The result, when added to a mechanical hand, is a robot that knows what it’s touching. It can pick up a balloon without popping it. It can pick up a key and use it to unlock a door.
Beyond robotics, Jentoft and Tenzer suggest that the TakkTile sensor could be used in a range of electronic devices. A toy manufacturer could make a stuffed puppy that responds to petting; a medical device designer could create a laparoscopic gripper that’s gentle enough to tease apart tissue during surgery.
“Not everyone has the bandwidth to do the research themselves, but there are plenty of people who could find new applications and ways of using this,” says Tenzer.
The sensors can be built using relatively simple equipment; the patented process relies on standard methods used in printed circuit board fabrication, along with access to a vacuum chamber. The tiny barometers are available cheaply because they have been widely used in cell phones and GPS units that can sense altitude.
The Latest Bing News on:
Robot hands
- Dexterous robot hand can take a beating in the name of AI researchon May 10, 2024 at 6:10 am
A robotics company likely most famous for a demo of its dexterous robot hand at ICRA 2019 with Jeff Bezos has now unveiled a new robust model designed for machine learning research, which was ...
- MIT’s new AI tech could make limbless, slimy, squishy robots a realityon May 10, 2024 at 5:01 am
A novel algorithm enables robots to flexibly squish, bend, or stretch for tasks such as obstacle avoidance or item retrieval.
- Watch robot dogs paint at Museum of Fine Arts Boston exhibiton May 10, 2024 at 2:39 am
The dogs, which are from Boston Dynamics, are part of artist Agnieszka Pilat ’s newest exhibit: “ Heterobota: The Language of Tomorrow .” The exhibit premieres May 10 as part of the museum’s MFA Late ...
- Team compares robot-assisted language learning systems and human tutors in English conversation lessonson May 9, 2024 at 9:00 pm
Advancements in large language models, robotics, and software such as text-to-speech, have made it possible to develop robots that can understand language, interact physically, and communicate ...
- Rise of killer robots? Scientists develop indestructible robotic handon May 9, 2024 at 8:23 am
A huge, super-fast indestructible robot hand might seem like a terrifying prop from a science-fiction film. But this hefty 4.1kg (9.9lbs) hand is very real and is already being used to develop the ...
- ‘Indestructible’ 3-fingered robot hand being tested by Google’s Deepmindon May 9, 2024 at 7:16 am
Reports suggest that Googe DeepMind is using a new dexterous 3-fingered robotic hand from Shadow Robot to train AI systems for robotics.
- DeepMind is experimenting with a nearly indestructible robot handon May 8, 2024 at 4:00 pm
A new robotic hand can withstand being smashed by pistons or walloped with a hammer. It was designed to survive the trial-and-error interactions required to train AI robots ...
- We got our hands on Dyson’s new robot vacuum, the 360 Vis Nav. Here’s our reviewon May 8, 2024 at 10:31 am
Will the third time be the charm for Dyson’s robot vacuum? To find out if the Dyson 360 Vis Nav robot vacuum lives up to the hype, we got our hands on one, courtesy of Dyson, and tested it on ...
- mimic Joins the Race to Develop First AI-driven Collaborative Robot, Raises $2.5Mon May 7, 2024 at 11:03 am
The race to develop the first commercially available humanoid robot has been primarily concentrated in the US–until now. mimic, a Switzerland-based startup, is challenging US dominance and joining the ...
- Swiss startup to advance collaborative robots with GenAI humanoid handon May 7, 2024 at 12:55 am
Zurich-based mimic has raised $2.5mn to further develop its AI-powered humanoid hand that can perform repetitive and demanding manual tasks.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Robot hands
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Robot hands” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”] [/vc_column_text]The Latest Bing News on:
Robotic hands
- Dexterous robot hand can take a beating in the name of AI researchon May 10, 2024 at 6:10 am
A robotics company likely most famous for a demo of its dexterous robot hand at ICRA 2019 with Jeff Bezos has now unveiled a new robust model designed for machine learning research, which was ...
- Watch robot dogs paint at Museum of Fine Arts Boston exhibiton May 10, 2024 at 2:39 am
The dogs, which are from Boston Dynamics, are part of artist Agnieszka Pilat ’s newest exhibit: “ Heterobota: The Language of Tomorrow .” The exhibit premieres May 10 as part of the museum’s MFA Late ...
- Robotic competition gives East Texas students hands-on STEM experienceon May 9, 2024 at 10:40 am
The Gregg County Historical Museum organized a competition Wednesday to provide area students with hands-on experience in robotics and engineering — skills that museum leaders say often are out of ...
- Rise of killer robots? Scientists develop indestructible robotic handon May 9, 2024 at 8:23 am
A huge, super-fast indestructible robot hand might seem like a terrifying prop from a science-fiction film. But this hefty 4.1kg (9.9lbs) hand is very real and is already being used to develop the ...
- ‘Indestructible’ 3-fingered robot hand being tested by Google’s Deepmindon May 9, 2024 at 7:16 am
Reports suggest that Googe DeepMind is using a new dexterous 3-fingered robotic hand from Shadow Robot to train AI systems for robotics.
- DeepMind is experimenting with a nearly indestructible robot handon May 8, 2024 at 4:00 pm
A new robotic hand can withstand being smashed by pistons or walloped with a hammer. It was designed to survive the trial-and-error interactions required to train AI robots ...
- We got our hands on Dyson’s new robot vacuum, the 360 Vis Nav. Here’s our reviewon May 8, 2024 at 10:31 am
Will the third time be the charm for Dyson’s robot vacuum? To find out if the Dyson 360 Vis Nav robot vacuum lives up to the hype, we got our hands on one, courtesy of Dyson, and tested it on ...
- mimic Joins the Race to Develop First AI-driven Collaborative Robot, Raises $2.5Mon May 7, 2024 at 11:03 am
The race to develop the first commercially available humanoid robot has been primarily concentrated in the US–until now. mimic, a Switzerland-based startup, is challenging US dominance and joining the ...
- Meet The Swiss Start-Up Taking On The Tech Giants In Robotics And AIon May 7, 2024 at 7:43 am
“We’ve therefore concentrated on something that mimics a human hand.” The idea is deceptively simple. Mimic’s robotic hand will have a similar level of manual dexterity of a human hand and you’ll be ...
- Swiss startup to advance collaborative robots with GenAI humanoid handon May 7, 2024 at 12:55 am
Zurich-based mimic has raised $2.5mn to further develop its AI-powered humanoid hand that can perform repetitive and demanding manual tasks.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Robotic hands
[google_news title=”” keyword=”robotic hands” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]