We can all use a helping … finger?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Even doctors make mistakes.
We’re all human after all! Or at least for now…Dun! Dun! DUN!
Enter robots – good robots – and Hongbo Wang’s team at the University of Science and Technology of China. They created a robotic “bio-inspired soft finger”.
Like a human finger, this silicon artificial finger can accurately bend and sense forces. In fact, the finger accurately distinguished between three different lumps under a silicon pad! It even precisely identified and measured the arterial heart rate of a human!
By partnering with this technology, healthcare professionals can one day “hand” off diagnoses to … the machines!
I give this research two robotic thumbs up!
Reference: Wang, Y., Wu, H., Li, T., Wang, J., Wei, Z., & Wang, H. (2024). Toward human-like touch sense via a bioinspired soft finger with self-decoupled bending and force sensing. Cell Reports Physical Science, 5(10). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2024.102225