Engineers at Saarland University have taken a leaf out of nature’s book by equipping an artificial hand with muscles made from shape-memory wire.
The new technology enables the fabrication of flexible and lightweight robot hands for industrial applications and novel prosthetic devices. The muscle fibres are composed of bundles of ultrafine nickel-titanium alloy wires that are able to tense and flex. The material itself has sensory properties allowing the artificial hand to perform extremely precise movements. The research group led by Professor Stefan Seelecke will be showcasing their prototype artificial hand and how it makes use of shape-memory ‘metal muscles’ at HANNOVER MESSE – the world’s largest industrial fair – from April 13th to April 17th. The team, who will be exhibiting at the Saarland Research and Innovation Stand in Hall 2, Stand B 46, are looking for development partners.
The hand is the perfect tool. Developed over millions of years, its ‘design’ can certainly be said to be mature. The hand is extraordinarily mobile and adaptable, and the consummate interaction between the muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones and nerves has long driven a desire to create a flexible tool based upon it. The research team led by Professor Stefan Seelecke from Saarland University and the Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technology (ZeMA) is using a new technology based on the shape memory properties of nickel-titanium alloy. The engineers have provided the artificial hand with muscles that are made up from very fine wires whose diameter is similar to that of a human hair and that can contract and relax.
‘Shape-memory alloy (SMA) wires offer significant advantages over other techniques,’ says Stefan Seelecke. Up until now, artificial hands, such as those used in industrial production lines, have relied on a lot of complex background technology. As a result they are dependent on other devices and equipment, such as electric motors or pneumatics, they tend to be heavy, relatively inflexible, at times loud, and also expensive. ‘In contrast, tools fabricated with artificial muscles from SMA wire can do without additional equipment, making them light, flexible and highly adaptable. They operate silently and are relatively cheap to produce. And these wires have the highest energy density of all known drive mechanisms, which enables them to perform powerful movements in restricted spaces,’ explains Seelecke. The term ‘shape memory’ refers to the fact that the wire is able to ‘remember’ its shape and to return to that original predetermined shape after it has been deformed. ‘This property of nickel-titanium alloy is a result of phase changes that occur within the material. If the wire becomes warm, which happens, for instance, when it conducts electricity, the material transforms its lattice structure causing it to contract like a muscle,’ says Seelecke.
The engineers use ‘smart’ wires to play the role of muscles in the artificial hand. Multiple strands of shape-memory wire connect the finger joints and act as flexor muscles on the front-side of the finger and as extensor muscles on the rear. In order to facilitate rapid movements, the engineers copied the structure of natural human muscles by grouping the very fine wires into bundles to mimic muscle fibres. These bundles of wires are as fine as a thread of cotton, but have the tensile strength of a thick wire. ‘The bundle can rapidly contract and relax while exerting a high tensile force,’ explains Filomena Simone, an engineer who is working on the prototype of the artificial hand as part of her doctoral research. ‘The reason for this behaviour is the rapid cooling that is possible because lots of individual wires present a greater surface area through which heat can be dissipated. Unlike a single thick wire, a bundle of very fine wires can undergo rapid contractions and extensions equivalent to those observed in human muscles. As a result, we are able to achieve fast and smooth finger movements,’ she explains.
Read more: Artificial hand able to respond sensitively thanks to muscles made from smart metal wires
The Latest on: Artificial hand
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Artificial hand” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Artificial hand
- Artificial intelligence isn’t just for tech students. All classrooms are finding ways to wield — and educate about — the powerful toolon April 25, 2024 at 3:00 am
Kennelly, animated and enthusiastic, is on the cutting edge. A new RAND study shows that as of the fall of last year, just 18 percent of educators said they use AI for teaching. Most used it to adapt ...
- Jensen Huang Hand-Delivers Nvidia's First DGX H200 GPU To OpenAI's Sam Altman To 'Advance AI, Computing, And Humanity'on April 24, 2024 at 11:32 pm
Nvidia Corp. NVDA CEO Jensen Huang hand-delivered the first DGX H200 GPU to OpenAI's ... OpenAI is a research organization that focuses on artificial intelligence. The company has been at the ...
- Local man recovering from hand amputation following hiking accidenton April 24, 2024 at 7:57 pm
A local man is on the road to recovery after losing his hand in a hiking accident.On March 16, Lemos was leading a hiking group in the Jacumba desert with the accident happened.
- ListSmart LLC Introduces Groundbreaking Artificial Intelligence Technology to Advance Real Estate Seller Lead Generationon April 24, 2024 at 1:41 am
As a trailblazer in the realm of technological innovation within real estate, ListSmart LLC has introduced A.I. voice setters that redefine client interactions. These advanced A.I.-powered booking ...
- 2 Top Artificial Intelligence (AI) Cryptocurrencies That Could Soar in the Bull Marketon April 21, 2024 at 3:11 am
Founded in 1993, The Motley Fool is a financial services company dedicated to making the world smarter, happier, and richer. The Motley Fool reaches millions of people every month through our premium ...
- A Once-in-a-Generation Investment Opportunity: 1 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Growth Stock to Buy Hand Over Fiston April 19, 2024 at 2:35 am
The AI market is forecast to surpass $1 trillion by the end of the decade, and companies that invest wisely today may benefit down the road. Acting now could translate into significant earnings growth ...
- After losing her hand in an accident, Monroe woman launches nonprofit to help amputeeson April 16, 2024 at 3:18 am
"That’s when I start thinking." At first, her thoughts swirled around how she and her husband could cover the $25,000 co-pay for her new prosthetic hand, and whether she would be able to return ...
- Harrisburg handyman hopes for prosthetic handon April 15, 2024 at 3:19 am
HARRISBURG, S.D. (KELO) — April is Limb Loss Awareness Month. A Harrisburg man who lost his hand last year is sharing his story in hopes of inspiring others. Ben Retterath was having a normal ...
- Prosthetic hands are easier to control using unrelated muscleson April 8, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Prosthetic hands are usually designed to be operated by the same muscles that would be used if the person had their natural hand, but a small study suggests that using unrelated muscles instead ...
- Artificial Integrityon April 8, 2024 at 1:36 pm
Artificial Intelligence may be the most evocative ... moves far more efficiently than a human could. On the other hand, the Human-First mode emphasizes contexts where human intelligence is ...
via Bing News