1 millimeter hand (microhand)
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A 1 millimeter robotic “microhand”, controlled by gas pressure, has been created by Chang-Jin Kim at UCLA.
It is the world’s smallest robotic hand and could find extensive application in microsurgery and minimally invasive surgery (a field which is currently dominated by grippers and tools that are mounted at the end of long, rigid aluminium rods). It is being deemed safe for biological operations. It runs on gas pressure thus it can be used in both dry and wet environments.
The “microhand” measures one millimeter across when closed into a fist. It consists of four “fingers,” each of which is made from six silicon wafers, with polymer balloons doing the work of “muscles” at the wafers’ joints.
Each balloon is connected with narrow channels through which air is pumped in or out. When a balloon is inflated, the distance between two joints decreases, and the finger flexes inward. Upon deflation, the fingers relax. And with selective inflation and deflation, researchers are able to manipulate the fingers into clasping or releasing an object.
An article published by Chang-Jin Kim titled “Microhand for biological applications” can be obtained here.
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