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Robotics Biotech

Clever Artificial Hand Developed 195

Posted by CowboyNeal from the sound-of-one-hand-closing dept.
AccUser writes "The BBC is reporting that scientists have developed an ultra-light limb that they claim can mimic the movement in a real hand better than any currently available. Researcher Dr Paul Chappell, a medical physicist who worked on the device, said, 'With this hand you can clutch objects such as a ball, you can move the thumb out to one side and grip objects with the index finger in the way you do when opening a lock with a key, and you can wrap your fingers around an object in what we call the power grip - like the one you use when you hold a hammer or a microphone.'"
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Clever Artificial Hand Developed More

Clever Artificial Hand Developed

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  • Better pic (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 09, 2005 @03:08AM (#13516684)
    Image here [tanomi.com]

  • In other news... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 09, 2005 @03:08AM (#13516686)
    Dr Paul is now Dr Pauline after some over-enthusiastic power grip testing...

  • hmm (Score:1)

    by Tezkah ( 771144 )
    perhaps this "clever hand" could type fast enough to get first post on slashdot?

  • Finally (Score:5, Funny)

    by dxprog ( 898953 ) on Friday September 09, 2005 @03:10AM (#13516701)
    For those of you who have had their hands severed by their father, relief has come!

  • The hand is not the optimal holding shape (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ReformedExCon ( 897248 ) <reformed.excon@gmail.com> on Friday September 09, 2005 @03:11AM (#13516705)
    I imagine something more along the lines of a malleable gel or putty that can form any shape thereby increasing contact surface area and making the grip stronger without increasing the amount of force on the object. It could hold an egg just as easily as an I-beam.

    They are looking to mimic humans, but I doubt human form is the most efficient and adaptable. A blob-like form consisting of millions of nanobots working together, sometimes loosely, sometimes in a tight lattice, would make much more sense as it could take on any form and be solid or "liquid" at any given time.

    • Re:The hand is not the optimal holding shape (Score:5, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 09, 2005 @03:24AM (#13516778)
      A blob-like form consisting of millions of nanobots working together, sometimes loosely, sometimes in a tight lattice, would make much more sense as it could take on any form and be solid or "liquid" at any given time.

      Wouldn't it be better to just give the patients mutant psychokinetic powers so they can levitate objects wherever they want? Oh I'm sorry, were you talking about things which can *actually* be achieved in the forseeable future?

    • Re:The hand is not the optimal holding shape (Score:4, Interesting)

      by lightyear4 ( 852813 ) on Friday September 09, 2005 @03:26AM (#13516782)
      A far better analog to the human hand is located here [shadow.org.uk]. The robotics folks over at Shadow really know what they're doing (check the videos). As anyone who checks the Shadow site will see, TFA's "clever artificial hand" does not win the prize for "the first artificially-made opposable thumb." Interesting nevertheless..if only we could see some realworld applications..
      • You really need to pay some attention before spewing forth about other developments.

        If you'd actually been paying attention you'd have noticed that the "Shadow Hand" is a prototype for industrial applications and such. Not medicine.

        While their products is also sweet, it is NOT something to compare to prosthetics. That puppy comes with a large pneumatic cylinder attached... might make it a *tad* conspicuous out and about.

        Nice try tho. :^)

    • Re:The hand is not the optimal holding shape (Score:5, Insightful)

      by patio11 ( 857072 ) on Friday September 09, 2005 @03:40AM (#13516829)
      Aside from your solution being squarely in the realm of science fiction at the moment, while folks need hands now, people with disabilities don't want to screamed at every time they look down that they're something other than human (they get that enough from other people, sad but true). The hand is an assistive technology, true, but the goal should be that it "just works" and does so as unobtrusively as possible, so that it doesn't stick out any more than, say, glasses, contacts, cochlear implants, or hearing aids. Having your hand appear the consistency of frying eggs when attempting to pick up your glass at dinner time does not fulfill this important design goal.

      • Re:The hand is not the optimal holding shape (Score:5, Interesting)

        by AGMW ( 594303 ) on Friday September 09, 2005 @04:07AM (#13516912) Homepage
        The hand is an assistive technology, true, but the goal should be that it "just works" and does so as unobtrusively as possible, so that it doesn't stick out any more than, say, glasses, contacts, cochlear implants, or hearing aids.

        Interesting that you include hearing aids in that list. I've wondered about this for a few years, on and off (I really should get out more), but while glasses have become fashion items, and people with good eyesight will use glasses to help them further (eg sunglasses), you don't see people using hearing aids unless they really have to!

        ... and what about some sense of fashion for hearing aids? Sure, they are becoming smaller and smaller, but this is just to allow them to be hidden.

        I have partial hearing loss and wouldn't even think of using a hearing aid, but anyone with slightly wonky eyes will get themselves some glasses.

        How about hearing aids for people with good hearing, for use at the cinema or theatre, that would filter out the dim-wits with their mobile phones and packets of crisps?
        How about a device to wear at the Pub which can allow you to filter out the background noise and actually hear, and converse with, your friends?

        I reckon there's a long way to go before hearing aids can be mentioned in the same sentence as glasses!

        • Re:The hand is not the optimal holding shape (Score:5, Insightful)

          by koniosis ( 657156 ) <koniosisNO@SPAMhotmail.com> on Friday September 09, 2005 @04:21AM (#13516949)
          I have partial hearing loss and wouldn't even think of using a hearing aid
          I'm sorry that you feel that way, I have a number of friends who require and use hearing aids and no one, I mean NO ONE makes a fuss, people don't point and stare even children don't, perhaps you are more paranoid than you think, give them a try and you'll realise that people don't see it as a "disability" any more than glasses after all. If you are really afraid you can get concealed aids that are very hard to notice unless you look someone directly in ear and pay attention. Like you say people who need glasses where them, equally people who need hearing aids wear them but you'll always get people who deny that they need glasses/aids etc etc. You admit that you require a hearing aid, get out there and stop caring what people think (or don't as the case may be) and you'll be back to a world of full stereo enjoyment :D
        • ... and what about some sense of fashion for hearing aids?

          You could make some with white ear buds, connect them to a white amplifier box with a circle on the front, and you'd be as flash as a rat with a gold tooth...
        • That's because every hearing aid on the planet is designed to be unobtrusive, but when you notice it, it just looks like a lump of pink plastic.

          Make it look *cool* and that would all change. Current hearing aids just don't look cool.
        • What I fail to understand is why the majority of hearing aids are so totally different in colour to normal skin.
          • because if they missed off a colour (dark brown(black people), yellowy(chineese), orange(dale winton),grey'y(greek), etc they'd be called racist/dale winton haters
        • What about all those people with contact lenses, because they don't like wearing glasses?
          • Bah, glasses are never looked down upon. Why, I've *never* heard anyone referred to as a nerd just because they were wearing glasses. I've also never seen one of those commercials where the difference between prudish librarian and super-hot party girl is just tied-up hair and glasses.

            Yep, glasses are nothing like hearing aids - since you can't really see hearing aids most of the time.
        • hearing doesn't really matter as much and you can still just ask people to speak up.

          the bonus of wearing glasses is just too much, besides some people wear contacts or go to surgery to get it fixed and some people don't use their glasses too much. of course there's then that if you have bad vision you must use glasses while driving so you must have them with you anyways.

          the older you get the more stubborn you get to not use aids like glasses or, my grandmother doesn't want to wear her hearing aid because sh

        • How about hearing aids for people with good hearing, for use at the cinema or theatre, that would filter out the dim-wits with their mobile phones and packets of crisps?

          How about a device to wear at the Pub which can allow you to filter out the background noise and actually hear, and converse with, your friends?

          As long as it didn't cause me discomfort, I'd definitely try something like that. I have some trouble with that sort of thing. While I hear amplitude well, I commonly have to ask people to repeat the

          • Rather than having "geek-brain-developed-for-technical-stuff-at-the- c ost-of-everything-else-itis", it's more likely that you have some hearing loss. Perhaps in the high treble area. This would make it difficult to distinguish between certain consonants for example 't' and 'c'. Hearing loss in lower frequencies makes discerning between vowels more difficult. Either way, your brain has to work harder than others to decode language.

            I have alot of hearing loss (from a combination of loud noises and as th
        • .. and what about some sense of fashion for hearing aids?

          They did that back in the 60's [starbase21ok.com], but nobody bought it.

          --Rob

        • I think it's a matter of time before hearing aids become commonplace. Of course, they won't be called hearing aids- they'll be called wireless ear buds.

          I imagine some wireless buds where, by turning the bezel of the watch they come with, you can adjust the mix between outside noise and other sources (phone, music, computer, etc). The watch would also function as a display for various info in addition to the time- Caller ID, song titles, etc.

          Of course, the new can of worms this would open would be people r
        • How about hearing aids for people with good hearing, for use at the cinema or theatre

          I'm not sure if you're intentionally leaving them out but most theaters already have little headsets you can borrow for any movie. Some require holding your license til it's over, depends where you are. Also they have to remember to turn on a transmitter upstairs before the movie starts or you'll just get static.

          In addition I've heard of two other things but haven't been able to verify anyplace that has them yet. One is
        • You have to remember that glasses have existed for well more than a century now. They've become accepted in a culture where they are now commonplace. I think the same will be true of hearing aids eventually, but hopefully in the short term, someone will design a hearing aid that doesn't look like a horrible growth.

          I think the biggest thing is not to try to hide them. Stop making them flesh colored! We don't have flesh colored eyeglasses.

          Make them look like a cool peice of tech. Make them comfortable to wear

      • Re:The hand is not the optimal holding shape (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward
        My daughter was born with one hand. She has adapted physically and there is very little she can not do, and I mean VERY LITTLE. She can jump rope, tie her shoes, ride a bike with gears and handbrakes, type roughly 20 wpm (and probably 40 WPM in teenage chat speak) and probably five 9's percentage of what everone else with two hands can do.
        I know parents get a little crazy with their own kids and want everything to be perfect and many would go through anything to get their young baby equiped with an artifi
    • I imagine something more along the lines of a malleable gel or putty that can form any shape thereby increasing contact surface area and making the grip stronger without increasing the amount of force on the object. It could hold an egg just as easily as an I-beam.

      They are looking to mimic humans, but I doubt human form is the most efficient and adaptable. A blob-like form consisting of millions of nanobots working together, sometimes loosely, sometimes in a tight lattice, would make much more sense as i
      • I agree, and would a nano blob be able to turn handles and poke at things and do all the other things that our hands can do besides holding things. Although I don't know why we're discussing this since it is pure science fiction right now. In that light my proposed nano blob hand can make you fly and teleport you places :D

    • They are looking to mimic humans, but I doubt human form is the most efficient and adaptable.

      I doubt we're going to come up with a better design than millions of years of natural selection. Besides, so many of the objects we use every day were designed to work well with human hands. Sure, you can usually custom design something to work better than hands for a particular task, but building new hardware for every new task is time consuming and wasteful. With a generic human-like hand you don't need to d

      • I agree that the best replacement for a lost human hand is probably a human hand. However:

        I doubt we're going to come up with a better design than millions of years of natural selection.

        I think it is actually easy sometimes. The 'design' of the human eye for instance is crap. No sane engineer would start from a light sensitive sensor, drill a hole through it (thereby creating a blind spot), draw some wires though it and place the readout devices in front of the light sensitive surface (thereby reduc

  • Just what I'm looking for (Score:5, Funny)

    by nEoN nOoDlE ( 27594 ) on Friday September 09, 2005 @03:11AM (#13516707)
    and you can wrap your fingers around an object in what we call the power grip - like the one you use when you hold a hammer or a microphone.

    Well, that's the only criteria I'm looking for in an artificial hand... I do a lot of... you know... karaoke.

  • Oh c'mon (Score:5, Funny)

    by zephc ( 225327 ) on Friday September 09, 2005 @03:13AM (#13516713)
    "'With this hand you can clutch objects such as a ball, [...] and you can wrap your fingers around an object in what we call the power grip"

    Oh c'mon You're making the jokes too easy for us!
  • ...we'll use it to grip our beer better and flip each other off more realistically!

  • Claims Too Strong! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by DrInequality ( 521068 ) on Friday September 09, 2005 @03:15AM (#13516731) Homepage
    This prosthetic hand may be able to mimic the human hand better than any currently available prosthetic hand.

    There are plenty of robot hands that are far better than this. e.g. #1 [shadow.org.uk] e.g. #2 [barrett.com].

    • Re:Claims Too Strong! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 09, 2005 @03:31AM (#13516799)
      This newly designed hand is only 400g unlike the two that you linked to which are 3.5kg and 1.15kg!! I know which one I would choose. I reckon I would look pretty funny walking with a lean and my wiz bang prosthetic knuckles dragging along the ground getting gravel rash :)
  • Hey now i can surf through internet porn while typing with *both* hands!!

    sorry, couldnt resist that one... ;)

  • This hand looks very promising... am sure that it will make many amputees happy as it can more closely resemble the human hand... just curious how much longer till the entire human hand can be duplicated totally... much less other body parts...

    I wonder how well someone could type with this hand though, am sure that hunting and pecking would work fine, but since this is controlled by the muscles in the arm, not so sure how efficient typing might be with this hand...

    One way to accessorize this hand might be to encase it in a skin toned covering, to more realistically mimic a human hand, and at least to not be so ovbious as this hand is...

    Overall this looks like a good step forward in prosthetics... soon people who are unfortunate enough to lose a limb, will be able to lead more normal lives... this is wonderful.

  • But the University of Southampton team has designed a prototype that uses six sets of motors and gears so each of the five fingers can move independently.

    So you've got a prosthetic hand with fully functioning fingers... How does the user of the hand control six, separate motors?

  • the biggest challenge... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by ErichTheWebGuy ( 745925 ) on Friday September 09, 2005 @03:16AM (#13516742) Homepage
    The biggest challenge of said "hand" will be the adaptation/grafting onto the human body. It will be difficult to train patients to use the new hand, since it has so many possible individual movements. Maybe a wearable device could mitigate that factor,...

    Harder to mitigate, however, is going to be the cost. Trying to get this product to be affordable enough to be used by large quantities of people will be another feat, comparable to the one mentioned in TFA.

    • If the problem of attachment is solved, why stop at hand replacement? Some individuals may be capable of controlling several hands, possibly augmented in a fly-by-wire sort of way. Surgeons would seem obvious early adopters. Perhaps control and sensitivity could be switched from hand to hand, using a lockdown mode to "hold what ya got". Hands need not be life sized....but I guess this really is old ground....right Waldo?

      billy

    • The biggest challenge of said "hand" will be the adaptation/grafting onto the human body. It will be difficult to train patients to use the new hand, since it has so many possible individual movements.

      I would have to both agree and disagree.

      Disagree: the biggest challenge, and certianly the most important one, is to make sure that the artificial hand won't grip too tightly when viewing pr0n.

      Agree: it will be difficult to train patients to use the new hand.

      Hey, on the many possible individual m

  • Oh come on (Score:5, Funny)

    by iamdrscience ( 541136 ) on Friday September 09, 2005 @03:19AM (#13516759) Homepage
    Isn't this old news? Luke had one of these by the end of Empire and that came out in 1980!

    Furthermore, the events depicted in star wars happened "A long time ago" so they must be even older than that.

  • I call prior art prior art. (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    The Addam's family, er, obviously invented the ultimate "artificial limb" years ago.......

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thing_(Addams_Family) [wikipedia.org]
  • ...but until it can handle a Poison Bite 105/ 401 Recitiation of Sins/ 402 Verdict/ Fire Ball, I think we've still got a long way to go.

  • opposable thumb (Score:2, Interesting)

    by layer3switch ( 783864 )
    The wonder never seizes to amaze me...

    The biggest question; as more sophisticate motorized artificial limb gets, more sensitive sensor to control it requires.

    If the question above is solved with "clever" routine to detect movement in sync with rest of fingers (ie. gripping torch.. hem or just giving thumbs up or middle finger), I'm assuming most basic movement will be predetermined/predefined according to how the sensor detects the motion or object by means of basic push/pull mechanism from wrist muscle.

    If
  • What did the clever artificial hand say to the face?

    SLAP!

  • Call Kevin! (Score:2, Informative)

    by Beekhuis ( 737856 )
    This should thrill Mister http://www.kevinwarwick.com/ [kevinwarwick.com]
    • It will take him to develop the full power of it. Sure, they think they are clever making actual working robots that help people, but it doen't mean anything until it can be used to transmit your thoughts to aliens.
    • I went to that page and saw this:

      Professor of Cybernetics University of Reading

      Imagine that! A University of Reading! Do they have other schools for "Riting" and "'Rhythmatic"? I can't imagine a school specializing in just one discipline, let alone needing a Professor of Cybernetics for a University of Reading. I guess you want your robots to read well.

  • Building a prosthetic limb is the easy bit in a way, the realy hard work is allowing the user to controll it in a natural way by nerv induction aswell as relay the touch feeling and providing the arm with enough power to last the day.

    Ultimately replacement limbs should be better that the originals and this is a fantastic step in the right direction.

  • Brace yourself (Score:1, Redundant)

    by BlastM ( 663010 )
    Prepare for robot masturbation jokes in 5, 4, 3...
  • it, but his cock rejected it.
  • Now With Kung Fu Grip!

  • the power grip (Score:5, Funny)

    by gomel ( 527311 ) on Friday September 09, 2005 @04:46AM (#13517032) Homepage Journal
    'The power grip will be mostly used to crush human sculls.' Dr Paul Chappell added.
  • I'm really hoping that tissue regeneration [slashdot.org] will take its place.
  • There's still a very long way to make it a perfect one. I'm not sure whether I can live long enough to see that happen..
    • I'm thinking well have full prosthetic bodies by 2030's. Honda wants to have a robotic team to be able to beat a human team by 2050. I'll be in my 70's by then so I'd like to think of myself being around.
  • Mmmmmm, Healthy Beans....


  • "With this hand you can clutch objects such as a ball, ..."

    ... hold a lightsaber, and clutch the air, palm upwards, as you tell someone you're their father.

    Michael. [michael-forman.com]

  • From TFA:

    Scientists have developed an ultra-light limb that they claim can mimic the movement in a real hand better than any currently available.

    Not to detract from the good work these guys are doing to restore mobility to the disabled, but... They can claim all they want about "any currently available," doesn't make it any less b*llsh*t. The Shadow Dextrous Hand [shadow.org.uk] has been available since 2002 and has way more degrees of freedom (they have all five DoF on the thumb for starters, not just two). The only t

  • It;s not the hand... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Sooner Boomer ( 96864 ) <sooner.boomr@gmail.cTIGERom minus cat> on Friday September 09, 2005 @05:58AM (#13517255) Journal
    It's not the hand, or motor/servo, or interface that needs improving, it's the Power Source ! Without long-lasting (much better than iPod!) batteries, this technology will go nowhere. I did research in prosthetics back in '75 and won quite a few awards and acclaim for the work, but had the same problem. One solution that was presented back then, but not much work has been done on it since, is a blood-powered fuel cell. It is implanted in the body and derives power from sugar and oxygen. Next best thing would be a pee-powered battery (grin).
  • wasn't something better done around 1991 [tanomi.com]

  • I was just thinking about this a couple days ago. I think every office is going to need one of these in the future. There's just too much mindless manual labor that occurs from day to day. Sure, the hardware is only part of the story, but once you've got the hardware you can download the software updates.

    For instance, I work as an accountant, and maybe half my time is spent opening envelopes, making photocopies, typing in data, etc. With a computer doing all that easy stuff, it'd leave me to the stuff

  • I wonder how its controlled? (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    PalmOS?
  • Researcher Dr Paul Chappell, a medical physicist who worked on the device, said: "With this hand you can clutch objects such as a ball, [...] the power grip - like the one you use when you hold a hammer or a microphone."

    Hmmm...after a user is done holding "a ball", he'll want to hold his "hammer or microphone." Why doesn't he just say what he means!? We all know what some guy who had no hands will do as soon as he gets a new one!

  • it makes me assume it's gas-powered. :-P
  • a really smart hand would figure out that when it hands you a finger, you'll end up grabbing the whole arm . Therefore, when you ask it to give you a hand, it gives you the finger.

    hm, I feel a theme building here...
  • Okay, if one hand is 400 grams, then two hands, scaled to backhoe size (say 10 times per dimension) would be 800 * 1000 g = an 800 kg pair. It is pretty cool to watch those one-fingered claws tearing homes apart, how about hands (with teleoperation)?

    How about sending these things up next time we need to fix a satellite and saving our astronauts' radation exposure for the important stuff?

    How would these fare against what deepsea diving suits use?
  • Upon donning the device, the inventor tried it out by crushing a can and proclaimed it "Groovy"
  • Till then, it won't sell well to the good ol' boys :-)

    (laugh. it's funny)
  • Are you sill dreaming about your three armed boy?

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