Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in ZurichExplainIn a collaborative research project with a US startup, they successfully created a robotic hand composed of different polymers to mimic the human skeleton, ligaments, and tendon structure through laser scanning and 3D printing technology. This creates a "rigid and flexible" operating characteristic, and can simulate the natural gripping force of the human hand.
Previous 3D printing technologies primarily used fast-curing materials for shaping, but later began to incorporate slow-curing materials, allowing printed products to combine both hard and soft materials, and produce more complex and durable output products. This research at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich aims to use this technology to create a more durable robotic arm.
This robot is printed using a slow-curing thiol-ene polymer. Its high elasticity and ability to quickly recover from deformation allow the robot, designed with a corresponding rigid support material, to mimic the elasticity of tendons during pressing and gripping. This not only allows the robot to more easily grasp objects, but also prevents damage to objects due to excessive clamping force during the gripping process.
On the other hand, by mimicking the natural elasticity of the human hand, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich also expects that this type of robotic arm design will enable future robots to interact naturally with humans or have greater flexibility in their work processes. At the same time, it can also avoid the obvious rigidity of traditional robotic arms, which makes it difficult to reproduce the delicate movements of the human hand.
