Japan Unveils Artificial Hand With Air Muscles

SPACE MEDICINE

Japanese robot venture Squse President Mikio Shimizu displays a portable robot hand and its artificial muscle, made of fiber and rubber in Tokyo 26 June 2007. The human-sized fingers are capable of moving with artificial fibers that can be elasticed by air pressure, which play the role of muscles in a human hand.

by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) June 26, 2007
A Japanese robot maker on Tuesday unveiled what it called the world's first prototype of an artificial hand with "air muscles" that can do even delicate work like picking up a raw egg. Squse, a Kyoto-based robot and factory automation manufacturer, said it has developed a 400-gramme (14 ounce) hand with five human-sized fingers with artificial fibres that can be controlled by air pressure.

"So far, robots have an image of helping people do heavy lifting, but we aim at delicate work as a human hand can do," company president Mikio Shimizu said.

During a demonstration, the prototype hand grasped a pen and picked up a raw egg without breaking it.

The firm plans to ship some 50 prototypes to research institutes and firms, with plans to market them overseas in the near future, Shimizu said.

Air muscles may be key technology for developing new types of artificial hands in the future, said Hiroshi Yokoi, associate professor of precision engineering at the University of Tokyo.

"Compared to motor-driven ones, air muscle hands are extremely light and less noisy," Yokoi said, adding that they may be in practical use in about five years' time.

Source: Agence France-Presse

Related Links
Squse
Space Medicine Technology and Systems

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

SPACE MEDICINE

Surgery By Satellite Offers New Possibilities At Cutting Edge Of Medicine

London UK (SPX) Jun 11, 2007
Robotic surgery may be coming to your town. Robots that perform surgery can be driven by surgeons who no longer stand by the patient, but direct the operation from a computer console. In most cases the surgeon is seated at a console within the theatre, only a few metres away from the patient.

AEROSPACE France Supports Cap On Airline Carbon Emissions Too Little Scope For Development Of Current Aircraft Technology F-35 Lightning 2 Pushing Ahead On All Fronts EU And US Launch Airline Pollution Initiative	CAR TECH Lawmakers Urge US Recall Of Chinese-Made Tires Billionaire Hopes To Move Entire Plant From Brazil To China US Senate Clinches Fuel Economy Deal Hybrids Or Diesels A Tough Call For Nissan-Renault
MILITARY COMMUNICATIONS Boeing Showcases Operational TSAT System During Critical Review Lockheed Martin Shifts Into Production Phase Of Navy Narrowband Tactical Satellite First Wideband Global SATCOM Satellite Packed And Ready For Shipment Major Integration Milestone Achieved On Advanced Military Communications Satellite	MISSILE DEFENSE Raytheon Ships Second Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Radar To Missile Defense Agency Raytheon Standard Missile-3 Achieves Ninth Hit-to-Kill Intercept In Space Kinetic Energy Weapons Making Progress In ABM Program Euro-BMD Bad For US
FARM NEWS Organic Farms Provide A Clue For India's Struggling Farms Wines Knocked Into Carbon Reduction Banned Chinese GM Rice Protein Found In Dutch Shipment To Cyprus Down On The Virtual Farm With GrassGro 3	DISASTER MANAGEMENT MIT Tool Determines Landslide Risk In Tropics US Charitable Giving Sets New Record Topping Katrina Effort New Orleans Still At Risk Of Serious Flooding Water Spray Latest Headache For Indonesian Mudflow Engineers
TECH SPACE YES2 Given Green Light For Launch Welcome To The World Of Haptics For Industrial Applications KVH Receives Order For Fiber Optic Gyros For US Military Simulators Boeing Orbital Express Achieves Another First In Space	ROBO SPACE Japanese Humanoid Is Working In The Rain Japanese Robot Receptionists For Hire Japanese Researchers Help Robots Brush Up Communication Skills Guessing Robots Predict Their Environments For Better Navigation

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement