A human hand can find a tool without looking, or put down a glass of water without spilling.
But for robots, these actions are harder than they seem. That is because using a hand requires a sense of touch.
Veronica Santos leads the Biomechatronics Lab at the University of California, Los Angeles.
"So, for example, how hard am I
squeezing
this object? What forces are required at my
fingertips
so that I can do these very fine
dexterous manipulations
of handheld objects?"
Santos and researchers are designing robot hands that do not just hold things. The robot hands can also feel when to let go, says Kenny Gutierrez, a graduate student.
"It's waiting for contact with the table before it decides to let go of the box."
The researchers have created a mechanical finger that senses many of the same things human fingers do. Santos says the device is equipped with a sensor that provides information about what the fingertip is touching. The information can include the object's temperature, internal
fluid
pressure and movement.
