Robotic Hands

1. Robotic Hands Mimicking the Human Hand April 24, 2013 • David French

2. Types • Prosthetic Image Courtesy of Luke Skywalker http://www.scifi-review.net/teenager-gets-a-bionic-hand-that-luke-skywalker-would-envy.html

3. Types • Non-Prosthetic http://www.vrealities.com/shadowhand.html

4. Applications • Prosthetic • Humanoid robots • Variety of small-scale dexterous operations • Working in inaccessible or hazardous environments, e.g. radiation, chemical or biological hazards,disabling IEDs • Research • Rehabilitation • Ergonomics

5. How It Relates to Our Course • Doesn’t usually use inverse kin, differential kin, or trajectory generation since the joints are usually controlled in manually mode. • Motors are sized based on desired torques/speeds, and are very constrained by physical size. • Up to 20 DOF, multiple independent kinematic branches (e.g. fingers)

6. Examples http://blogredbox.blogspot.com/2011/09/geeky-gadgets-newsletter_22.html

7. Shadow Hand • Shadow Hand • comparable to a human hand in size and shape, and reproduces all of its DOF • 24 joints altogether, with 20 DOF • Not as strong as a real human hand YouTube link

8. Shadow Hand • Available in both electric motor and pneumatic muscle driven models • 20 motors or Air Muscles • Every joint has a Hall effect sensor for positional feedback • Every actuator has a force/pressure sensor • Can add third-party tactile sensors • $100K - $250K total cost

9. Shadow Hand  First, Middle, Ring finger 1 Distal - Middle 2 Middle - Proximal 3 Proximal - Knuckle 4 Knuckle - Palm  Little Finger 1 Distal - Middle 2 Middle - Proximal 3 Proximal - Knuckle 4 Knuckle - Metacarpal 5 Metacarpal - Palm  Thumb 1 Distal - Middle 2 Middle - Proximal 1 3 Middle - Proximal 2 4 Proximal - Palm 1 5 Proximal - Palm 2  Wrist 1 Palm - Wrist 2 Wrist - Forearm http://www.vrealities.com/shadowhand.html

10. Shadow Hand • Controlled with a 22 sensor CyberGlove

11. Shadow Hand • Integration with BioTac tactile sensor • forces • micro-vibrations • temperature • estimate radius of curvature of a contacted object • discriminate edges, corners, and flat surfaces • detect slip • discriminate objects based on their texture, compliance, and thermal properties

12. Sandia Hand http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-08/video-robot-hand-runs-cellphone-parts-can-replace-its-own-digits YouTube Link • Affordable: $10K • Mostly produced with parts found in cellphones • Digits attach to palm using magnets • Can replace its own fingers

13. Stanford Hand Video Link http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/04/rethinking-the-robot-hand-at-harvard-video/ • Single actuator • Equal force at all digits, regardless of configuration or shape of object • Digits bend and twist • Extremely durable

14. DARPA Hand(Pit Crew Example) http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/30/science/making-robots-mimic-the-human-hand.html Video Link

15. SQUSE • 16 joints, 22 actuators • Flesh-toned silicone rubber skin cover http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/robots/6-innovative-robot-hands#slide-2 YouTube Link

16. Universal Gripper • Balloon-like sack filled with coffee grounds • To pick, push gripper sack onto object, then apply vacuum to the sack http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/robots/6-innovative-robot-hands#slide-5 Video Link

17. Equipment • Links and joints • DC Motors / pneumatic motors or ‘muscles’ • Position sensors • Tactile (touch) and temperature sensors • Controllers • Microcontroller (e.g. Arduino) • Software framework, e.g. Robot Operating System (ROS), which provides packages for motion, control, planning, face recognition, etc.

18. Controls • Neural interfaces • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppILwXwsMng

19. Controls • Muscle-sensing • Example: Bebionic3 myoelectric prosthetic hand (video link) • Example: iLimb Pulse hand prosthesis (video link) • Joystick, keyboard, mouse, other controls Bebionic3 http://www.dvice.com/archives/2012/11/luke-skywalkers.php

20. Controls • Position-sensing gloves http://robotswillstealyourjob.tumblr.com/

21. Limitations • Limited range of motion • Limited strength/power • High cost • Manual control is often slow, if not difficult • Must be mounted on an appropriate fixture to be useful (e.g. human stub, robotic arm). • “Computer vision systems have worked only in highly structured environments on a very limited set of objects.”[1] [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/30/science/making-robots-mimic-the-human-hand.html

22. Costs • Build your own ‘Grasping With Straws’ robot - $100-$150 • http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Robotics_p003.shtml?gclid=CNmSvpjt3rYCFQ9eQgodk1oANg

23. Costs • MechaTERobot Hand - $900

24. Costs • Professional-grade commercial robotic hands • Usually $10K or much more [2] • DARPA pit crew hand: potentially $3,000 in quantities of 1,000 or more[2] • $10K for Sandia Hand • $100K - $250K for Shadow Hand [2] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/30/science/making-robots-mimic-the-human-hand.html

25. Practical Applications • Prosthetic • Humanoid robots • Variety of small-scale dexterous operations • Working in inaccessible or hazardous environments, e.g. radiation, chemical or biological hazards,disabling IEDs

26. Technical Advancements • Shadow Air Muscles • Lightweight(10 g and up) • Little stiction • Flexible • work whentwisted axiallyor bent aroundcorners • High power toweight ratio

27. Technical Advancements • Improved control interfaces, especially neural interfaces • Accuracy in mimicking the human hand • Dexterity • Modular designs • Durable designs • Greater strength-to-weight ratios • Lower cost designs

28. Industries Impacted • Prosthetics • Rehabilitation • Future humanoid robot applications • Hazardous/dexterous operations • Ergonomics

29. Questions? http://www.123rf.com