Researchers set sights on uber-dexterous robotic hand

Dr. Honghai Liu, one of the two researchers heading up a project to craft an exceptionally deft robotic hand, has called such a device "one of the holy grails of science," and honestly, we can't say we disagree. He, along with Professor Xiangyang Zhu, was recently award a Royal Society grant to further research the possibility of using artificial intelligence to create software that could "learn and copy human hand movements." A sensor-laden cyberglove has been used to capture data about how the human hand moves, and the duo hopes to eventually use the findings to produce the "perfect artificial limb." Of course, there's no telling how long it'll take for such technology to actually be perfected, but we can already see the line forming with folks eager to swap out their own hand for one a bit more adept.

[Via The Raw Feed]

[Jerry @ Dec 2nd 2007 4:51PM]

Sign me up, I'd swap out both of my hands for two shiny new robotic super hands. :-)

[David Clark @ Dec 2nd 2007 5:02PM]

?? Blue screen of life in the background?

[sushi @ Dec 2nd 2007 5:19PM]

Or blue screen of death? hope it doesnt run on Windows.

[JohnTitor @ Dec 2nd 2007 5:53PM]

looks like a coordinate chart or something
that's a whole lotta Wii remotes

[Darkman08 @ Dec 2nd 2007 5:23PM]

Power Glove.

[Gene @ Dec 2nd 2007 5:24PM]

Screw just the hand... I'd replace my entire right arm if I could have a built in computer to monitor my body status, have a slide out gun of some sort so I could way-lay some punk ass while roaming the cities (LOL), and then some sort of pick lock in the fingers, and a laser pointer in another... and yeah...
Ok...
Nevermind...
That would just be hardcore inspector gadget...
Either way...
GR

[SteveMB @ Dec 2nd 2007 5:46PM]

Why do they have a picture of OJ?

[Andrew @ Dec 2nd 2007 6:33PM]

lol

[duke @ Dec 2nd 2007 6:56PM]

Add "were recently award(ed) a Royal Society grant" to the list.

Seriously, I'm not usually one to make a big deal about this, but that many errors in a single post is just too much.

[crypt @ Dec 2nd 2007 6:56PM]

Finally a solution to that nasty lightsaber incident...

[MikeSaf.com @ Dec 2nd 2007 7:44PM]

I've actually seen this a few months ago. They are also working on artificial legs.

[brett @ Dec 2nd 2007 7:57PM]

...lascivious fembot owners worldwide just rejoiced...

...while I died a little inside.

[Joe Maki @ Dec 2nd 2007 8:52PM]

Shouldn't they be trying to design a hand without the human design limitations? Oh, then robots will just rule the world sooner!

[CaliforniaKid @ Dec 3rd 2007 1:02AM]

I don't care if one designer is an esteemed doctor and the other is a prestigious professor.

How soon after they got the glove working do you think one shouted, "Hey, look at this!" and flipped the other one off?

[Silivrenion @ Dec 3rd 2007 1:29AM]

It's finally here! The perfect artificial limb to provide the perfect... uhhh... uhmm.. dexterity!! yeah, dexterity!

Of course, I wonder if the glove has been exposed to rather naughty uses :P

[Razor @ Dec 4th 2007 11:01AM]

Can it grip a lightsaber?