RAPHaeL 2 arrives

The boffins at the Virginia Tech College of Engineering’s Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory have come up with a sequel to their fully articulated robotic hand, known as RAPHaEL 2. Just like its predecessor, RAPHaEL 2 is able to firmly hold objects ranging from a soup can to a raw egg thanks to the use of force and position feedback which automatically controls the grasping force and finger position. One of the major changes introduced into the RAPHaEL 2 woul be the closed loop control mechanism and sensors for automatic position and force feedback of the fingers, utilizing LabVIEW and data acquisition hardware courtesy of National Instruments. The future RAPHaELs would probably be able to know just how soft an object it by touching it – now that’d make a robotic partner all the more realistic…which would be scary.