This Science News Wire page contains a press release issued by an organization and is provided to you "as is" with little or no review from Science X staff.

Core technology for human hand-like “robotic hands”

March 31st, 2023

The paper on the core technology achievement of the "robot hand", which is as delicate and flexible as a human hand, by the research team of Professor Penn State from the Department of Robotics and Mechatronics in DGIST (President Yang Kook) was selected as the cover of the 10th anniversary edition of Soft Robotics.

Professor Dongwon Yoon's research team from the Department of Robotics and Mechatronics in DGIST established a "robot hand," that is as delicate as a human hand in 2021. The "robot hand" is mainly used for advanced tasks, such as grasping and assembling objects of various shapes and stiffnesses, across various industrial sites.

A ball bearing swivel joint based on a rolling bearing is mainly used for the operation of this robot hand; however, its cost is high and the assembly is tricky. Thus, various flexible joints are being developed to replace this joint because it is also prone to failure due to external impact and may damage objects.

Thus, Professor Dongwon Yoon's research team intended to reinforce the weak stiffness of the structurally flexible robot hand by applying four flexure hinges morphed to fit the fingertips and by arranging the two pairs in a cross to form an X shape. Consequently, they demonstrated that the robot hand absorbed 46.7% more impact than previous bearing-based robot hands.

Additionally, they deduced that grasping various unstructured objects could be achieved with higher reliability. Further, the shortcoming of previous soft robots with a low transportable load could be overcome, and this robot hand could grasp up to 4 kg.

Professor Dongwon Yoon from the Department of Robotics and Mechatronics in DGIST stated "we are very pleased that our research progress, published in 2021, was selected as the cover page of the number one journal in the field of soft robots for their 10th year anniversary edition," and "we are working to make this technology practical for industrial sites and the field of soft robots."

Provided by DGIST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology)

Citation: Core technology for human hand-like “robotic hands” (2023, March 31) retrieved 16 July 2025 from https://sciencex.com/wire-news/441724538/core-technology-for-human-hand-like-robotic-hands.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.