WEIRD SCIENCE| Did you know robots can’t use their hands the way humans do?
Hindustan TimesHumanoid robots are no longer restricted to science fiction. “A second problem is generalisation — robots can be made good to manipulate in already-seen scenarios, but still struggle in new scenarios,” Agrawal said. MIT’s Technology Review explains this problem with an example: “A robot can repeatedly pick up a component on an assembly line with amazing precision and without ever getting bored — but move the object half an inch, or replace it with something slightly different, and the machine will fumble ineptly or paw at thin air.” Moravec’s Paradox states that tasks that are hard for humans are relatively easy for robots but tasks that are easy for humans are very difficult for robots. And replicating the dexterity of the human hand and fingers presents a difficult bioengineering problem, said Nayan Moni Kakoty, a Tezpur University professor whose research areas include rehabilitation robotics. The MIRALab website describes Nadine as “a socially intelligent robot who is friendly, greets you back, makes eye contact, and remembers all the nice chats you had with her”.
History of this topic
Scientists develop human-like robotic hand with smart palm-finger coordination
China Daily
Human hands are astonishing tools. Here's why robots are struggling to match them
BBC
Behold A Robot Hand With A Soft Touch
NPRRobot Hands Get a Grip on the Future
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