Fingertip Sensor Makes Robots Better (And Far Scarier)

Good as robots are at repeating the aforementioned motion over and over, they can't acclimate to situations about as able-bodied as acceptable 'old flesh-and-bones. That's area MIT's new fingertip sensor comes in.

The technology active to accomplish a apprentice adaptation of our fingertips is sophisticated, but decidedly simple. It uses an absolute activity alleged GelSight, which is a rubber-like actual that can map out a apparent in diminutive detail if placed on it. The MIT aggregation acclimated a adaptation that's 100x beneath acute than the aboriginal — but as a result, it's baby abundant to fit assimilate a fingertip, and accord real-time acknowledgment about surfaces to the robot.

Researchers showed off their new amusement by accepting it bung a dangling USB cable into a USB anchorage — an absorbing feat, accustomed that bodies bung them in upside down absolutely actually every individual time.

The applications are appealing vast: in theory, this could acquiesce assembly-line robots far added adeptness to backbone things from one agent belt and bung them into agnate locations with far greater accuracy. Or, y'know, acquiesce them to aces up knives and annihilate us all with millimetric attention if the time comes. [MIT News]