A robot hand has been created that actually has a better sense of touch than humans. The idea of a Cylon invasion isn’t too far off — it’s only a matter of time.
Researchers at the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering published a report on June 18 showing that the robots they created can accurately identify a wide range of natural materials according to their textures. In a test trial the robot, named BioTac, was able to identify 95% of the most common materials, far better than the average human.
Like the human fingertip, the BioTac has a soft flexible skin (complete with fingerprint) over a liquid filling. When the robot touches something, the grooves in the fingerprints pick up on the subtle vibrations and sends them through the liquid filling to a hydrophone (a microphone designed for underwater use). The BioTac is also able to discern even more information like the temperature of the object as well as the direction of the force.
The robotic digit is programmed with an algorithm that allows it to make decisions by exploring the outside world and imitating human exploratory strategies. Unlike humans who may never successfully identify an object when blindfolded, the BioTac only has to touch an item an average of five times to hit that 95% success rate.
So what does this mean aside from the rise of Terminators? Will we begin outsourcing touch-based jobs to robots?
The creator of the technology thinks his research will aid in the development of next-level prosthetics and things like personal robots with a sense of touch. Allowing both bionic humans and their robot companions to identify sensitive objects and grab them with just the right amount of force.
It’s fascinating to see how far technology is proceeding; how quickly pipe-dreams are coming to fruition. It’s actually kind of frightening.