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Researchers from the École Polytechnique de Lausanne have done well: a robotic hand that detaches from its arm, crawls like a spider, grabs an object out of reach and comes back to hang on. Magical, right?
Imagine a hand sneaking off to retrieve your remote control that fell behind the sofa, before wisely returning to attach itself to its robotic arm. Science fiction? Not quite.
One hand, five fingers and one ambition: to do everything at once!
Swiss scientists have designed the first robotic hand capable of both crawling and grasping objects. Yes, you read correctly: she walks like a little spider with three of her fingers, while the other two are responsible for retrieving what is out of reach.
Thanks to a clever system of magnets and screws, the hand can detach from the arm, accomplish its mission, then return to attach automatically. In laboratory tests, it has already managed to manipulate objects as diverse as a bottle of mustard or a can of Pringles (we now know which will empty your cupboards in the future).
A feat worthy of “The Addams Family”
If this crawling hand reminds you of something, you are not alone: it clearly evokes “the thing”, this detached and living hand in The Addams Family. Fans will appreciate the wink! But here, we are in reality, with a technological advance that could revolutionize service robotics.
For now, this robotic hand is controlled manually, but the next step is to make it a completely autonomous tool. Once this is accomplished, she could become a great ally for reaching difficult places, while also being able to manipulate objects with impressive dexterity.
A revolution within reach?
This invention opens up new perspectives, particularly in the fields of domestic robotics and space exploration. You may no longer need to get up to grab the remote, but who knows? In a few years, this little hand could serve you coffee!