Virtual hands, robotic hands, medical hands, gripper hands

There’s been so much news on manufacturing and advancements in research for medical device design I wanted to offer a quick look. Starting out is a story from the University of Southern California (USC) about researchers developing a virtual human hand by combining visual effects techniques and medical imaging to create precise model of the human hand in motion.

© USC

“The team, which recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation to take their work to the next stage, plans to build a public dataset of multi-pose hand MRI scans, for 10 subjects over the next three years. This will be the first dataset of its kind and will enable researchers from around the world to better simulate, model, and re-create human hands. The team also plans to integrate the research into education, to train PhD students at USC and for K-12 outreach programs.”

Watch a video and read more about the research.

So as the human hand is being viewed in a new way thanks to USC researchers, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineers are helping give robots a grip. Using an algorithm, the MIT engineers have found a way to significantly speed up the planning process required for a robot to adjust its grasp on an object by pushing that object against a stationary surface. Whereas traditional algorithms would require tens of minutes for planning out a sequence of motions, the new team’s approach shaves this preplanning process down to less than a second.

© Image courtesy of the researchersr

Both the USC and MIT researchers are exploring and advancing in the areas Schunk’s Dr. Martin May, head of research advanced technology for Schunk GmbH & Co. KG, Lauffen/Neckar, discusses the company's approach to gripping systems and skilled hands.

The human hand is still regarded as the benchmark when it comes to flexibility of gripping tools. Whereas grippers were previously designed for industrial automation based on robustness, longevity, and performance, with gripping hands the focus is on flexibility of motion. The closer human beings and robots work together, the greater the relevance of humanoid 5-fingered hands will be.

© Schunk | https://schunk.com/us_en/homepage

"In extreme cases, human beings and service robots will share one and the same workstation, including all tools and auxiliary equipment," explains Dr. Martin May, head of research/advanced technologies at Schunk, which is why Schunk had the SVH 5-finger hand certified by the DGUV as the world's first gripper for collaborative operation in 2017.

Nine drives for its five fingers carry out many gripping operations while numerous gestures can be performed, facilitating visual communication between humans and the service robot for easier integration into human environments. 

Sharing a desk with a robot
Schunk research determined that the human hand is much more than just a highly flexible tool for handling.

“Unlike with industrial grippers, users always associate emotional aspects with humanoid gripping hands," May explains. "Gripping hands are always in demand wherever a robot has to imitate human handling methods."

This concerns manipulation as well as gestures. In its research projects, Schunk has focused in particular on domestic-type applications of service robotics and assembly-oriented applications in industrial assistance robotics.

"Gripping hands are a sensible option wherever the environment of an activity is configured for human beings, who are then to be assisted by a robot, for example in domestic kitchens but also in industrial assembly workstations or in picking and logistics applications." 

© Schunk | https://schunk.com/us_en/homepage

Different variants
Schunk has various gripping hands within its portfolio, starting from a 2-fingered hand reduced to the basic functions of gripping for service robotics, to the industry-compliant 3-fingered hand Schunk SDH and the complex Schunk SVH 5-fingered hand. The latest model, the Schunk SIH, is also equipped with five fingers with a structure similar to human beings but differs from the SVH in terms of drive and kinematics.

The SVH is driven via nine motors and complies with the typical aspects of a precision working robot hand.

The SIH is equipped with five motors and actuated via pull cables, based more on its human counterpart with its veins and muscles. Three of its fingers can be moved independently of one another and the two smallest in turn move together as a team. SIH can be more flexibly deployed, is more robust, and available at lower costs, which, according May, was a key requirement for the research project, particularly when it comes to service robotics applications in domestic environments as strict management of costs is a must if they are to be successful on the market.

In order to attain the goal of affordable, simple-to-operate 5-fingered hands for versatile applications, Schunk makes use of experience from bionics as well as the latest motor and electronics concepts. Using intelligent gripper control, a wide range of gripping projects can be realized via a simple-to-operate interface without having to program these precisely. 

© Schunk | https://schunk.com/us_en/homepage

Autonomous gripping
Schunk is dedicated to the gripping process as a whole and is on the lookout for ways of dealing with handling tasks autonomously. Intricate programming of the robot, which until now had to be done manually by the user or integrator, will in the future be replaced by a learning, autonomous assembly of components. Instead of individually defining positions, speeds, and gripping forces step-by-step, intelligent gripping systems will in the future detect their target objects via cameras and perform gripping planning of their own accord. Based on data records and algorithms, gripping systems will be capable of detecting principles and deriving corresponding reactions. In addition, Schunk R&D is working on algorithms for classifying different geometries and arrangements and developing optimum gripping strategies. Gripping systems should be able to handle parts autonomously and refine the underlying gripping workflows ever further. 

©  Schunk | https://schunk.com/us_en/homepage

Autonomous evaluation of gripping quality
The greater the variance of the parts to be gripped and the more complex the task, the sooner gripping hands will be deployed here too. By means of corresponding sensor systems in the gripper fingers, the motor current and intelligence integrated in the gripping hand, the quality of a grip can be detected, evaluated, and readjusted if necessary. In addition, characteristics of objects such as geometry, size, or flexibility can be sensed via the gripper alone and transferred to higher-level systems or upstream/downstream stations.

"Using artificial intelligence methods, it will also be possible to train service and assistance robots intuitively and create individual libraries for gripper planning and then add to these," May says. "Particularly gripping hands for versatile use will then no longer be deployed for repetitive tasks but it will be possible for them to be continually adapted to new objects and relations and their gripping strategies optimized on an ongoing basis."