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Robotic Catcher's Hand Does Not Need Mitt

This robotic catcher's mitt was developed by scientists at the University of Tokyo, Japan, can comfortably grab a ball careering through the air at 300 kilometers per hour, or 83 meters per second.


(From robotic catcher hand)

The robot does not even need a catching mitt. It resembles a single metallic claw, with just three fingers instead of the human complement of five. An array of 32 by 48 individual photo detectors in its "palm", tracks a ball's trajectory at high speed. And a series of specialised image processing circuits recognise this movement almost instantly.

An approaching ball triggers the robot's three fingers into action. Actuators embedded in each joint use a burst of high current to move through 180 degrees in less than one tenth of a second. This enables the machine to snatch the ball in the split second it takes to arrive.

Via New Scientist.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 7/2/2009)

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