robotic tweezers, gadgets, grippers, hands, microscale, microtechnology, nanoscale, nanotechnology...

Robotic Hand May Be Tiny, Has Strong Grip

Scientists have developed a pair of robotic hands that are both strong and sensitive. The tweezers can guide themselves to pick up and move individual cells without damaging them, and have a grip that can be as slight as 20 nanoNewtons of force. In fact, so advanced are the little grippers, that they can be hitched up to a microscope and, with the right software, function without human control. More below.

The tweezers were developed by a team from the University of Toronto, and use basic robotic concepts, but on a microscopic scale. What is so extraordinary about them, however, is that they can sense when they are getting close to things, such as surfaces or cells, and so avoid collisions. The tweezers are also aware of the strength of their grip. Manipulated by the software, they can get into position much faster than they could if they were controlled by a person.

The tweezers are just three millimeters long, and their tips just ten micrometers wide. Expect to see them being used in tissue engineering or for creating nano- and microscale devices. [NewScientist]

12:00 PM on Thu Apr 17 2008
By Addy Dugdale
2,540 views
8 comments

Comments

Munch at 12:10 PM on 04/17/08
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I could see that one being quite useful for certain surgeries as well.
SgtMac02 at 12:18 PM on 04/17/08
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FINALLY! A pair of tweezers that will get that damned piece of fiberglass out of my finger!
bosskev at 12:20 PM on 04/17/08
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Tiny? Sensitive? Strong grip? Embarrassed to admit, they sound perfect for me...
92BuickLeSabre at 12:45 PM on 04/17/08
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Tweezers, combs, thermal actuators, strong yet sensitive?
Did the U. of Toronto merge with Fioro Beauty Academy?
scarbrtj at 01:17 PM on 04/17/08
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Hey... fun fact... you never capitalize a derived SI unit like the "newton", you just capitalize its abbreviation if it comes from a person's name. E.g. "10 Newtons of force" is not correct; "10 N of force" is correct, as would be "10 newtons of force."

Sir Isaac, the most important man of the last millennium, was British though, so I forgive you AD :)
www.poynton.com/PDFs/Writing_SI_units_(USL).pdf
Sora57 at 02:11 PM on 04/17/08
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No one, not even the rain, has such small hands.
ubuu at 02:15 PM on 04/17/08
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Old news...check out microgripper work from 12+ years ago, first by CJ Kim (berkeley), then a bit later by Gisela Lin (ucla) for cell gripping with built-in force sensing, and plenty of others since.
zer0energy at 06:36 PM on 04/17/08
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If you like those, you should check out the tweezers at [www.MEMSPI.com] . Crappy webpage, but beautiful micro-tweezers. You can actually buy these unlike the U Toronto prototypes...