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Video: A Hand When You Need One

A robotic hand for industrial applications is a remarkable advancement in anthropomorphic technology, mimicking the motions of the human hand.

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Nine separate drives allow the Schunk 5-Fingered Hand to perform a variety of gripping operations with a high degree of sensitivity.

 
When you visit Schunk’s YouTube page to see videos of its toolholding, workholding and gripping systems, you’ll find something straight out of a science fiction movie. The anthropomorphic Schunk 5-Finger Hand is used together with the lightweight robotic arm LWA 4P to simulate human motions. Its size, weight and flexibility are similar to that of a real human hand and can be used for dexterous manipulation and making gestures. A newly developed robotic operating system (ROS) driver for the hand controls all nine active joints and is used together with the ROS motion driver of the 6-DOF arm. An intuitive teach-in interface with the ability to add, edit and save key points makes it easy to create new trajectories for a desired task, which are interpolated automatically. This video shows how hand and arm trajectories are synchronized and create smooth, combined motions.