I always considered the idea of a humanoid robot as totally over the
top and only worthy of doubtful science fiction. Yet it seems to be
happening. We can even imagine the mass production of these devices
at a cost effective level. Suddenly we have servants whose duty is
to keep us pampered.
More practically, such devices will be immensely valuable in
agriculture. Hand harvesting is very important as is hand
maintenance of crops. Weeds need to be removed gently at pretty well
the right time. Pests need to be observed and removed or locally
dealt with. We can do it but there is never enough hands.
At the same time our entire culture will ultimately need to do a
complete reset in order to work with their new servants. We also
need to all participate in physical labor in order to maintain
personal health and general tone and skills. Ideally this occurs
because we are doing useful work that is not particularly risky or
extreme.
We will get a system that combines human physical flexibility with
machine power and potential ruggedness to take over the outright
maintenance of our world on a global scale.
Dextrous robotic
hand gets thumbs up
European researchers
said Thursday they had developed the world's first real-sized,
five-fingered robotic hand able to grasp and manipulate objects with
human-like dexterity.
Getting robots to
manoeuvre objects with precision has posed many problems for
engineers in their quest to build humanoid machines to serve as
domestic aides, emergency rescuers or factory workers.
Industrial robotic
"grippers" already exist that are able to grasp objects and
move them but are unable to handle items as a human hand would --
grasping an egg without breaking it but also lifting heavy, bulky
things.
It has also proved
difficult to size prototypes on human measurements.
The team from Italy
and Germany built a hand using strings that are twisted by small,
high-speed motors in five fingers, each with three segments.
Dubbed the Dexmart
Hand, the device was able to handle a delicate Easter egg and lift a
five kilogram load, the team reported.
"We used the
human hand as our model," researcher Claudio Melchiorri from
Italy's University of Bologna said in a statement issued by CORDIS
Features, an agency that highlights EU-funded technological research.
"This provides
the ultimate example of dextrous manipulation."
The hand also has a
primitive "brain".
Light sensors were
attached to the hand, making it possible to calculate the force
required for the fingers to grasp an object without squashing it or
losing its grip.
"The
capability of the robotic hand is so near to that of humans that the
vision of robots as personal assistants in the household, in the
operating room as well as in industrial settings is becoming ever
more realistic," said fellow Bologna researcher Gianluca Palli.
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