Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
Tech

Robot That Can Manipulate Its Grip

Darpan News Desk IANS, 05 Aug, 2015 10:47 AM
  • Robot That Can Manipulate Its Grip
A new robotic model developed by scientists, including an Indian-origin engineering student, can adjust its grip on objects.
 
For example, if a robotic gripper aims to pick up a pencil at its midpoint, but instead grabs hold of the eraser end, it could use the environment to adjust its grasp.
 
Instead of releasing the pencil and trying again, the new model enables a robot to loosen its grip slightly, and push the pencil against a nearby wall -- just enough to slide the robot's gripper closer to the pencil's midpoint.
 
The model developed by a team led by Alberto Rodriguez, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and graduate student Nikhil Chavan-Dafle, predicts the force with which a robotic gripper needs to push against various fixtures in the environment in order to adjust its grasp on an object.
 
Partnering robots with the environment to improve dexterity is an approach Rodriguez calls "extrinsic dexterity" -- as opposed to the intrinsic dexterity of, say, the human hand.
 
To adjust one's grip on a pencil in a similar fashion, a person, using one hand, could simply spider-crawl his fingers towards the centre of the pencil.
 
But programming such intrinsic dexterity in a robotic hand is extremely tricky, significantly raising a robot's cost.
 
With Rodriguez's new approach, existing robots in manufacturing, medicine, disaster response, and other gripper-based applications may interact with the environment, in a cost-effective manner, to perform more complex manoeuvres.
 
"Chasing the human hand is still a very valid direction in robotics. But if you cannot afford having a $100,000 hand that is very complex to use, this method brings some dexterity to very simple grippers," said Rodriguez.
 
The new approach will be detailed in September at the international conference on Intelligent Robotics and Systems.

MORE Tech ARTICLES

'Smart' cars run greater risk of being hacked

'Smart' cars run greater risk of being hacked
The cars of the future will be safer, smarter and offer hi-tech gadgets but simultaneously the risk of car hacking is also growing, warns a road safety expert....

'Smart' cars run greater risk of being hacked

Is Samsung ready with its first selfie phone?

Is Samsung ready with its first selfie phone?
At a time when the world is going crazy over the selfie phenomena, Samsung is rumoured to have developed its first selfie-centric...

Is Samsung ready with its first selfie phone?

Cheetah robot that sprints like Usain Bolt

Cheetah robot that sprints like Usain Bolt
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a bounding algorithm to enable a robotic cheetah run and jump with super agility....

Cheetah robot that sprints like Usain Bolt

Google launches Android One smartphones for Rs.6,399

Google launches Android One smartphones for Rs.6,399
Google Monday launched in India the first smartphones under its Android One project priced at Rs.6,399, an official said here.

Google launches Android One smartphones for Rs.6,399

Addicted to Your Smartphone? Try NoPhone

Addicted to Your Smartphone? Try NoPhone
The NoPhone is a black piece of plastic in the shape of an iPhone that does absolutely nothing.

Addicted to Your Smartphone? Try NoPhone

Hire this robot to wash dishes!

Hire this robot to wash dishes!
Developed by scientists at the University of Birmingham, "Boris" is capable of intelligently manipulating unfamiliar objects with a human-like grasp....

Hire this robot to wash dishes!