Gizmodo: hand

MeisterGRIP Gives Robot Arm Controls To Your Palms

Christopher Mascari — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:00:00 EDT

Who doesn't want the ability to control robotic arms? Especially when the robo-arms are mapped directly to contact points and grasping-force from your own five fingers. Even though this wonderfully named MiesterGRIP does indeed give you robo-arm control, don't expect to be lifting cars anytime soon since it appears grabbing a balloon is the most exciting trick that's currently possible.

The important part of all this isn't really the robotic arms but more the controller device. A cylindrical interface is gripped by each hand and measures each contact point on your palms and fingers, which allows for the slightness variation in applied pressure to control the attached robo-arms. The cylindrical interface is also mounted upon a movable controller which will register directional movements. So what this means is all your finger, hand and arm movements are transferred over to the robo-arms without even getting out of your seat.

But yeah, there's still no super-powerful robot arms... sorry [MeisterGRIP at SIGGRAPH]

Sensopac Neural-Net Robot Hand May Be What Droids Will Shake Hands With

Kit Eaton — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:00:00 EDT

Robotic hands and arms may be getting more sophisticated, but they don't really rival what we think C3-PO would have poking out of his torso. That is until now: an European science team have been busy creating the Sensopac robotic limb, and it's arguably the most human-like robotic limb yet. And partly that's because its sophistication is derived from software modeled on the human cerebellum. The arm has artificial skin that can sense force and direction in detail, and its 38 motors mimic the structure of human muscles and tendons to give it a very human-like grip.

Those motors are arranged in opposing pairs, along with non-linear spring systems so that they mimic the opposing muscle structure that gives human hands their dexterity. The team achieved this by making hundreds of MRI scans of real hands in different positions. And apparently this has paid off, since it means the Sensopac hand can snap its fingers, pick up an egg or carry a cup of liquid much like we do.

The really clever bit, though, is in the artificial intelligence that controls the limb. In humans the cerebellum controls sensation and movement, so the team have created a neural-net system that mimics it to control the arm in a more "natural" manner. It's apparently the "first neural-network-based controller that can control the dynamics of a robotic system in its full operational range,” and means that the arm (when perfected) would be able to pick up a cup, sense what the contents feels like and handle it appropriately.

The arm is now in advanced testing, but it'll be a while before robots have a limb that behaves exactly like ours do: that's "still light-years away" according to the project coordinator. Doesn't stop me wondering how long it'll be until there's an entire neural-net robot droid built with this biomimetic tech though. And then there's personality downloads to think about... [ICTResults via Physorg]

Microsoft Wearable Mouse Patent Should Be Named "The Surf N' Jerk"

Benny Goldman — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:13:01 EDT

Microsoft continues their quest to bring Minority Report to life with a recently published patent for a wearable mouse from 2006. Now you too can wave your hands around like Tom Cruise—jumping optional—to control the cursor on your computer screen. The mouse is placed around the palm and activated by making a fist. The cursor moves based on a gyroscope inside which tracks the X and Y coordinates of your hand, much like a Wiimote. The handheld style opens our eyes to some interesting possibilities.

Right and left mouse buttons are placed on the side in a thumb-accessible position, and the design is unobtrusive enough to allow for easy typing when it's on. We'd love to get a hand-on with the mouse if it ever comes out. It looks great and the ability to surf the internet without keeping our hand close to the computer is very conducive to our leisure time activities. [patent via istartedsomething]

Japanese Heart-Shaped Pocket Hand Warmer

Jason Chen — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:40:08 EST

These Hokkairos have been very popular in Japan and all over the world (Lam even had one when he was five—his parents made him sleep on a stainless steel bed), acting as a self-contained hand warmer you stick into your pocket in the winter. As you can see in the ~~cool~~ warm video above, you just need to break the coin-shaped container to cause a chemical reaction. It's "semi-permanent," so you can heat up the thing once it's cooled off (probably not in a microwave) for use again. It's only $4 each, which is definitely a price not too much to pay to keep our fingers intact when high-fiving Eskimos. [Strapya]

Mini Clamp Cellphone Strap

Jason Chen — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:00:35 EDT

Often need to pick up tiny things with the use of a mechanical claw? This Mini Mini Hand Strap cellphone strap is the thing for you. Choose from one of three insane-looking colors and you'll be picking up hairs, eyeglass screws and our dignity with ease.

Product Page [Rakuten via Plastic Bamboo]