How difficult is it for this robotic hand to pick up an egg?

It can crush a can when it needs strength, and it can pick up a pair of tweezers when it needs precision. The manipulator that possesses such "boyfriend strength" is actually a robot. According to a study published on the 14th in the British journal Nature Communications, a team of Korean scientists reported a robot that integrates all the components required for responsive motion, sensing, and high flexibility. This robot can be installed on existing commercial robot arms to perform a variety of tasks from grasping eggs to using scissors and tweezers.

Of the 206 bones in the human body, 54 are in the hands, which is equivalent to a quarter of the total number of bones, and the hand muscle structure that drives these bones is also extremely complex. Because of this, the movement of the human hand seems ordinary, but it involves a very high level of dexterity. From grasping delicate objects to operating complex tools, the human hand can perform a variety of tasks. Explaining the extremely complex functions of the human hand remains an unsolved challenge so far.

Robotic hands have similar functions to human hands and can therefore be highly flexible in performing tasks. In practical applications, robotic hands have the potential to perform a wide range of tasks. However, developing robotic hands that do not have additional drive components to move them and maintain high flexibility or the ability to grasp with appropriate force is a huge challenge.

Overview of “ILDA”.

The flexible robotic hand developed by the team of scientists from Asia University in South Korea is called "ILDA" (Integrated Linked Actuated Flexible Anthropomorphic). This hand consists of 20 joints, allows 15 degrees of free movement, has a fingertip force of 34 Newtons, weighs less than 1.1 kilograms, is small in size (218 mm), and has tactile sensing capabilities.

The researchers said that all components of "ILDA" are integrated into the hand, which means that it can be connected to existing robotic arms without additional parts (such as forearms). A series of experiments showed that this hand can pick up objects of various shapes, strong grip can crush cans, or delicate grip an egg. This hand can also cut paper with scissors and pick up small objects with tweezers.

Mechanical finger motion structure.

Picking up an egg gently without crushing it or dropping it on the ground is an innate ability for humans, but a big challenge for robots. "ILDA" has successfully achieved this, indicating that the robot has made great progress in tactile sensing, feedback mechanism, and fine manipulation.

Editor-in-Chief's Comments

We often say that machines are "clumsy" because robotic hands cannot do delicate work. You can program them to write and draw, but they still lack the ability to grasp and control strength. The human hand is a delicate tool because it has a complex structure. From the arm to the elbow to the palm to the fingers, the bones, muscles, and tendons are interconnected and work together. It is very difficult to move all of this to a robotic hand - the size cannot be too large, there must be enough sensors, and the structure must be flexible enough... It is easy to say that you have a tiger in your heart and can smell the rose carefully, but it is a big test for humans to let the machine do it. However, it now seems that humans have completed another challenge.

Source: Science and Technology Daily. The video and pictures in this article are from Nature Communications.

◎ Science and Technology Daily reporter Zhang Mengran

Editor: Wang Yu

Review: Yue Liang

Final review: Liu Haiying