AssetID: 56067710
Headline: Thing of the future! Scientists build robot hand that walks like Addams Family character
Caption: **VIDEO AVAILABLE: CONTACT INFO@COVERMG.COM TO RECEIVE** BY MARK WORGAN Swiss scientists have created a robotic version of The Thing from The Addams Family - a robotic hand that can walk on its fingers. The autonomous five-fingered device can pick itself up after falling over as well as interact with and manipulate objects. The spooky technology comes from ETH Zurich's Soft Robotics Lab. Unlike conventional robotic hands, it does not need to be attached to an arm or another mobile platform to move from one place to another. Researchers say the technology could eventually allow robotic hands to detach from larger machines and crawl into confined or difficult-to-reach spaces to carry out tasks. “We show that a commercial anthropomorphic hand can serve as a self-contained mobile manipulator,” the researchers write in a pre-print paper. “Its fingers move the body, support its weight, and interact with the environment, avoiding a separate locomotion mechanism.” The prototype weighs 818g (1.8lb) and has been tested on surfaces including grass, gravel, asphalt, carpet and metal grating. The device is based on a commercially available human-like robotic hand with five fingers and 20 powered joints – four in each finger. Researchers Amirhossein Kazemipour, Hehui Zheng and Robert K Katzschmann added a battery, sensors and computing equipment, allowing it to operate without cables or an external robotic arm. Teaching the hand to walk presented an unusual challenge because, unlike the legs of many walking robots, its five fingers differ in their shape and range of movement. Its palm also naturally sits at an angle. When one finger is lifted from the ground to move forward or interact with an object, the remaining fingers have to support and balance the robot. The researchers used reinforcement learning, a form of machine learning in which a system learns through trial and error, to develop its movements. The walking behaviours were initially trained in computer simulations before being transferred to the physical robot. The hand was able to travel without being tethered across 14 indoor and outdoor surfaces. These included carpet, tiles, asphalt, grass, gravel, weathered stone and metal grating. Researchers also deliberately placed the robot on its side to test whether it could recover after falling over. It successfully returned itself to an upright position in 21 out of 25 attempts. The team also demonstrated how the fingers could alternate between walking and carrying out other tasks. In one experiment, the hand supported its own weight while using a finger to press arrow keys on a computer keyboard. It successfully pressed 29 of 32 target keys and was then used to make moves in the puzzle video game Sokoban. In other demonstrations, it was even capable of playing golf or football. Robotic hands are typically attached to arms, which may themselves need to be mounted on a larger mobile robot if they are required to move around. Allowing a hand to travel independently could reduce the amount of equipment needed for some tasks. The researchers hope that the hands could be connected to a larger robot, and then could crawl independently into confined areas the robot could not otherwise reach. “A larger robot could deploy the hand into a confined workspace, let it operate controls and move objects, and retrieve it,” they write. “Giving robotic hands their own mobility could make future robots more versatile in the spaces and interfaces built for people.” Further work will be needed to improve the hand's ability to perceive its surroundings and increase the range of movements it can perform. However, the research demonstrates that fingers designed primarily for grasping can also be used to give a robotic hand its own way of moving around - just like The Addams Family’s Thing.
Keywords: feature,thing,addams family,tech,technology,science,photo,video
PersonInImage: Scientists at ETH Zurich have tested their robotic hand under numerous conditions.