New wrist-mounted device augments the human hand with two
robotic fingers.
Twisting a screwdriver, removing a bottle cap, and peeling a
banana are just a few simple tasks that are tricky to pull off single-handedly.
Now a new wrist-mounted robot can provide a helping hand — or rather,
fingers.
Researchers at MIT have developed a robot that enhances the
grasping motion of the human hand. The device, worn around one’s wrist, works
essentially like two extra fingers adjacent to the pinky and thumb. A novel
control algorithm enables it to move in sync with the wearer’s fingers to grasp
objects of various shapes and sizes. Wearing the robot, a user could use one
hand to, for instance, hold the base of a bottle while twisting off its cap.