Robot hand from Swiss engineers can drop a handle for grabbing objects
Engineers from the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Technologie de Lausanne (EPFL) have unveiled an innovative robot called Handcrawler. It has the unique ability to detach from the main arm and move independently.
A key feature of the Handcrawler is a bilateral hand that can grasp objects from either side without the need to rotate the “wrist”. This functionality significantly extends the robot's working area: if an object is out of reach of the Kuka arm, the hand can disconnect, “crawl” to it, grasp it and return to reconnect.
At the moment, the robot is controlled remotely, but the developers are already working on an autonomous version with an external localization system. Handcrawler's innovation lies in combining the functions of grasping and moving in one module, which distinguishes it from most existing robots that have separate systems for these tasks.
Handcrawler demonstrates the potential for unconventional solutions in robotics and confirms that not blindly copying human anatomy can lead to new technological breakthroughs.