Johns Hopkins University engineers have created a new kind of bionic hand that can sense what it touches and grip objects just like a human hand.
This breakthrough could greatly improve the lives of people who have lost a hand.
Most robotic hands are either too stiff or too soft, making it hard for them to handle different objects properly.
This new bionic hand solves that problem by combining both soft and rigid materials.
It can hold delicate items, like stuffed toys and plastic cups, without crushing them, and it can also grip sturdier objects like water bottles and pineapples.
The bionic hand is designed to work and feel like a real human hand. It has:
- A soft and flexible design with rubber-like materials and a strong 3D-printed internal skeleton.
- Three layers of special sensors inspired by human skin, allowing it to detect different textures and shapes.
- Control through forearm muscles, so users can move the hand naturally by sending signals from their muscles.
- Machine-learning technology that helps process touch signals, allowing the hand to respond as if it has a real sense of touch.
“The goal has always been to create a prosthetic hand that feels more natural and allows people to interact with the world safely,” said Sriramana Sankar, the lead researcher from Johns Hopkins University.
In lab experiments, the bionic hand successfully identified and handled 15 different objects. These included soft toys, dish sponges, cardboard boxes, metal water bottles, and even a plastic cup filled with water. The hand adjusted its grip to avoid damaging or dropping the objects. It performed with an impressive 99.69% accuracy—better than any other robotic hand tested so far.
One of the most impressive tests was when the hand picked up a fragile plastic cup filled with water using just three fingers without denting it. “The human hand is both soft and strong at the same time. That’s what we want our prosthetic hand to achieve,” Sankar explained.
For prosthetic hands to fully replace lost limbs, they need three key features:
- Sensors to detect the environment.
- A system to turn sensor data into nerve-like signals.
- A way to stimulate nerves so users can feel what they are touching.
This new bionic hand is a big step forward. It translates touch signals into nerve-like messages, helping the brain understand if an object is soft or hard, slipping, or stable. Future improvements will focus on increasing grip strength, adding more sensors, and using stronger materials.
“This isn’t just important for prosthetics,” said Professor Nitish Thakor, another researcher on the project. “Robotic hands of the future will need this technology to handle both heavy and delicate objects safely.”
This exciting breakthrough could change both the prosthetics industry and robotics, helping people regain natural hand function and allowing robots to interact with objects more intelligently.
Source: Johns Hopkins University.
