Selasa, 19 Juni 2012

Robot with a 'textured hand' can detect more than 100 different materials with just a fingertip

Robot with a 'textured hand' can detect more than 100 different materials with just a fingertip

By Eddie Wrenn

PUBLISHED: 10:47 EST, 19 June 2012 | UPDATED: 10:47 EST, 19 June 2012

A... tomato? The BioTac sensor can outperform humans at guessing an object by feel alone

A... tomato? The BioTac sensor can outperform humans at guessing an object by feel alone

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Researchers have developed a robot finger that is more sensitive to touch than the human hand.

The BioTac sensor was able to identify a randomly selected material 95 per cent of the time, which is a higher hit rate than a human would achieve.

It achieved the feat thanks to a fingerprint on it’s ‘skin’ which gave it more sensitivity to vibration than previous such machines.

It also has a soft coating similar to human tissue which is filled with a special liquid.

Even the mechanism by which is works is the same - including a ‘bone-like core’ at the middle of it all.

Inside is a tiny microphone called a hydrophone which is usually used to detect noises underwater, only here it picks up vibrations.

The finger has been developed by researchers at the University of California’s Viterbi School of Engineering.

Professor of Biomedical Engineering Gerald Loeb and doctoral student Jeremy Fi shel said it could one say be used for prosthetic limbs, or for advanced robots.

Along with the main sensor, the finger also has features which allow it to monitor direction and temperature.

Professor Loeb said: ‘The problem we’ve been asking is, how do you judge textures, and can you get a robot to do the same thing?

‘If you have ever had your fingers so numb from the cold that you couldn’t feel things, your hands are almost useless, if you can’t feel what you’re touching, it slips, you can’t do things, it’s as if you’re paralysed.

‘By adding tactile sensing to prosthetic hands you can overcome that problem.’

The sensitive finger tip can use vibrations to detect different frequencies - leading to the 'sense of feel'

The sensitive finger tip can use vibrations to detect different frequencies - leading to the 'sense of feel'

The technology is the latest example of robots attempting to carry out tasks thought to be so complex they could only be undertaken by a human.

Japanese researchers have developed a robot that can perform functions it was not programmed to do by using past experience and knowledge to make an educated guess.

The SOINN (Self-Organizing Incremental Neural Network) technology, from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, is expected to learn like a child over time.

Scientists at Tel Aviv University's Blavatnik School of Computer Science have also taught PCs how to feel ‘regret’ so they make better choices the next time around.

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