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For robots tendons are better than servos

10.04.2012

At the Forschungszentrum Informatik meeting in Karlsruhe, a unique robot arm was presented for the first time, capable of performing delicate, precise manipulations with various objects. Research on the development of a manipulator with artificial tendons was carried out within the framework of the European project DEXMART.

Over the past four years, scientists have developed a number of innovative technologies aimed at increasing the flexibility and sensitivity of mechanical hands. It is easy for us to handle various things, such as a paper cup with juice, but for a robot this is a serious problem. To pour juice into a glass, the robot must hold a glass bottle with one hand and a fragile glass with the other, and then also move it without spilling the liquid. Researchers from the University of Saarland, together with colleagues in Bologna and Naples, have developed a mechanical hand that can easily perform these tasks, and besides, it has almost more drives than the muscles in a human hand.

A new manipulator is needed in various fields of science and technology: from working with experimental animals to taking people out of burning buildings. Modern hydraulic and electric manipulators cannot safely handle fragile objects, much less the human body. Until now, the main problem has been the creation of an artificial hand similar in size to a human one: it was simply not possible to "shove" all the necessary drives and electronics into these dimensions. Scientists in the DEXMART project came up with a simple but extremely effective solution: they used artificial "tendons" twisted by compact high-speed engines. Thus, it became possible to produce powerful tensile / compressive movements while maintaining a compact design. What's more, these efforts are easy to manage, since controlling the speed of the electric motor is not difficult.

Extremely strong polymer "tendons" allow you to lift 5-kg objects at a speed of 30 mm per second with just one small electric motor and a "tendon" 20 cm long. Each finger of the robot, like a human finger, consists of three segments controlled by separate "tendons". Mini electric motors rotate at high speed and produce a small amount of torque on the order of five newton millimeters. The new manipulator is able to easily lift heavy objects and at the same time carefully manage fragile objects, such as a chicken egg. Such machines can be used for joint work with a person, in surgery and when performing complex repairs in places dangerous for people.

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