Robot Hand Is Just Hot Air
By Anne Pawsey
It could easily be dismissed as a load of hot air but engineers in Japan think that it is the future of robotics – the invention of air powered muscles.Squse, a Kyoto-based robotics manufacturer, has developed a robotic hand entirely powered by air. It has five human-sized fingers and is capable of doing even delicate work like holding an egg.
Robots are currently used to help with heavy, manual tasks such as lifting but the developers feel that this new approach will open up a whole new field.
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Air muscles may be key technology for developing new types of artificial hands in the future, said Hiroshi Yokoi, associate professor of precision engineering at the University of Tokyo.
"Compared to motor-driven ones, air muscle hands are extremely light and less noisy", Yokoi said.
This is obviously an advantage, but we’re ever so slightly worried about what would happen in the event of a puncture. It would be somewhat embarrassing if your sparkly new hand suddenly burst, whizzed across the office and landed on your boss’ knee.
Go to Anne's page for more or revel in the robots:
- Bizarre - Robo-nose gets snotty
- Cool - Robo-car gets on the road
- Stupid - Robo-lawyers get rights
- Better - Robo-workers get wet
Title image: Andrzej Pastuszak
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