I-Corps: Humanoid Robotic Hand for Use in Fulfillment Centers

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种机器手，以在电子商务履行和汽车组装等工业应用中完成部件拾取和放置操作。虽然其他夹持解决方案，如吸盘和简单夹持器，在商业上是可以买到的，而且价格实惠，但这些解决方案无法掌握此类工业应用中的所有产品，从而阻碍了这些操作的自动化。拟议中的机械手的商业化可能会导致几个行业的拾取和放置操作的自动化，从而降低成本、改善安全性和提高准确性。这个i-Corps项目是基于驱动技术的开发，这种技术可以复制人类肌肉的能力，其大小与人类的手一样大。这项拟议的技术与其他几项创新相结合，可能会制造出一种在大小、重量、力量、速度和灵活性方面复制人手能力的机器人手。现有的驱动技术无法复制如此大小的人类肌肉的能力，导致抓手和手同时比人类的手慢、弱和不灵活。之前在执行器技术和机构以及变速器设计方面的基础研究使这一能力比现有技术有所提高。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a robotic hand to complete component pick and place operations across industrial applications such as E-commerce fulfillment and automotive assembly. While other gripping solutions such as suction cups and simple grippers are commercially available and affordable, these solutions are unable to grasp the full range of products found in such industrial applications, preventing automation of these operations. Commercialization of the proposed robotic hand may lead to automation of pick and place operations across several industries, resulting in lower costs, improved safety, and increased accuracy. This I-Corps project is based on the development of actuation technologies that can replicate the capabilities of human muscle at the same size of those that articulate the human hand. The proposed technology, in combined with several other innovations, may make it possible to produce a robotic hand that replicates the capabilities of the human hand in size, weight, strength, speed, and dexterity. Existing actuation technologies are unable to replicate the capabilities of human muscle at this size, leading to grippers and hands that are simultaneously slower, weaker, and less dexterous than the human hand. Previous basic research in actuator technologies and mechanism and transmission design enable this improvement in capabilities over existing technologies.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.