Schunk optimises robot hand

Schunk has optimised its 5-finger hand concept study. The motor controllers have been completely integrated in the wrist of the latest anthropomorphic gripper hand and therefore very compact solutions are available now. Via defined interfaces, the gripper hand can be connected with the lightweight arm which is already on the market.

Schunk's robot hand concept.

For mobile applications, the energy supply of the 5-finger hand requires 24 VDC, and in the first version the hand is controlled via a serial bus. The gripper hand is available as a left- and right-hand version, and it is amazing how much it resembles its human model in size, shape and mobility.

By means of nine drives, its five fingers can carry out various gripping operations. Moreover, numerous gestures can be performed so that visual communication between human and service robot is simplified, and the acceptance for robot applications in the human environment is increasing.

The use of tactile sensors in the fingers grants the necessary sensitivity of the gripper hand for mastering gripping and manipulation tasks even in unstructured and unforeseeable environments. Elastic gripping surfaces ensure a reliable hold of the gripped objects.