Need a helping hand from Skynet? Sandia National Laboratories, a subsidiary of the Lockheed Martin company working for the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, has innovated a robotic hand that can be used to disarm explosives (improvised explosive devices) with great accuracy.
High-Tech Capabilities and Cost
This could prove to be an effective life-saving tool for military soldiers. The supply of the robotic hand is limited due to its high cost. It costs more than $250,000. The robotic hand project was funded by DARPA (Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency).
In the Sandia Hand, various types of fingers and tools like torches, screwdrivers, and cameras can be connected easily with magnets and fixed in the hand frame. The Sandia robot hand has 12 degrees of freedom.
Design and Usability
According to Principal Investigator Curt Salisbury, hands are the most difficult part of any robotic system and the least available due to the need for high dexterity and low cost.
They are designed in such a way that the fingers can fall off if crashed into any object. If any finger falls down, it can be picked up and attached in its place with the help of other fingers.
Even a new user can easily control the robot with a glove. The robotic hand is covered with a gel-like layer to make it look like a human hand and to provide a soft touch when grabbing things.
Sandia, along with researchers from Stanford University, is working with the consulting firm LUNAR to bring down the cost of the robot. Software for the hand robot is currently under development, which is also funded by DARPA.
Credits: Sandia National Laboratories, DARPA
