Smart robotic hand learns alone

Smart hand

German researchers have developed a robotic hand that becomes familiar with new objects on its own.

The system - the actual robotic hand, a computer and a control program - works without knowing the characteristics of objects, be they utensils, pieces of fruit or tools.

One of the applications provided by the team is service robots capable of independently adapting to the job - whether they are working robots or home robot assistants.

"Our system learns by experimenting and exploring on its own - just as babies approach new objects," said neurogeography professor Helge Ritter of the University of Bielefeld.

Pick up or push

In tests, the robotic hand learned and performed tasks as distinct as picking up a banana and pushing a button. "The system learns to recognize such possibilities as features and builds a model for interacting and re-identifying the object," explained Ritter.

The team is already working on a two-handed robot like the ones that have now been introduced. So that they can be used on future robot assistants, they intend to do a "plastic" on the robotic hands, giving them not only the shape and the mobility, but also the appearance of human hands.

The robotic brain that controls these hands - the computer program - was designed by a multidisciplinary team. Although it is typically an artificial intelligence program, its project required the collaboration of biology, neuroscience, computer science and mechatronics experts.