NTHU researchers develop robot imitating human hand movements

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 -- Interdisciplinary research team led by Professor James Chang of the Department of Power Mechanical Engineering recently applied the latest advances in AI, biomechanics, and human-factor engineering to develop a robot that can imitate the meticulous movements of a human hand.

According to a statement, endowed with sharp senses of vision and touch, the robot’s hands are nimble enough to catch a ball and pull out a tissue.

Completely designed and manufactured in Taiwan, the dexterous two-handed robot has been dubbed the ‘Tsing-Hua Gentleman’ by NTHU President Hocheng Hong, who said that it’s destined to play a leading role in the field of medical care.

What makes this robot unique is that one hand provides strength, while the other is highly nimble.

The robot developed by Chang’s team closely imitates those of the human hand, with level of dexterity reached by digitising a human hand’s motion, making the robotic hands nimble enough to hold a baby or turn over a bed-ridden patient.

Chang explained that this nimble hand imitated the design of human fingers, utilising pneumatic transmission to control its movement with a US-patented precise pressure sensing device that responds to changes of magnetic force.

Comparing to robots requiring a separate sensor for each direction, Chang’s robotic hand has only one sensor for multi-direction sensing, making it more like a human hand.

With a 3D visual system to scan surrounding objects over a wide range, this robot possesses sense of space and ability to use AI to identify objects.

-- BERNAMA