Researchers at Sandia National Laboratory have developed a robotic hand that can mimic 18 new human-hand-like maneuvers. Apart from human-like functionalities, the cost-effective hand can even disarm explosives and repair itself.
According to the developers, the Sandia Hand addresses challenges like cost, durability, dexterity, and modularity that hinder the widespread adoption of other robotic hands. The project has been funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
"Current iterations of robotic hands can cost more than $250,000. We need the flexibility and capability of a robotic hand to save human lives, and it needs to be priced for wide distribution to troops," said Sandia senior manager Philip Heermann.
While talking about the self-repair functionality, principal investigator Curt Salisbury says that all fingers are detachable and replaceable with any tools or parts. He also mentions that "if a finger pops off, the robot can actually pick it up with the remaining fingers, move into position and resocket the finger by itself."
Currently the "Sandia Hand has 12 degrees of freedom, and is estimated to retail for about $800 per degree of freedom - $10,000 total - in low-volume production. This 90 percent cost reduction is really a breakthrough," said Salisbury.
Salisbury averred that "At this price point, the Sandia Hand has the potential to be a disruptive technology. Computers, calculators, and cell phones became part of daily life and drastically changed how we do things when the price became affordable. This hand has the same potential, especially given that high-volume production can further reduce the cost."
Currently, no information regarding Sandia Hand's release date is available.
