hands
Science

Getting Robots To Pick Things Up Is Actually Really Hard

Our hands are a pretty major feat of evolution (opposable thumbs! dexterity!), and it’s hard to artificially replicate everything they can do. Especially when it comes to super fine motor skills like picking up very flat, thin or small objects. As part of DARPA’s ARM program, iRobot and collaborators at Harvard and Yale are working on versatile robot “hands” that can bear significant weight while also producing subtler gestures.

10 January 2013

Science

Wrinkly Fingers Evolved To Help You Grip Wet Objects

If you’ve ever sat in a bath staring at your fingers as they wrinkle involuntarily, you’re in good company. Now, a team of scientists has worked out why it happens.

24 July 2012

Online

How Do You Function, When One Hand Is Out Of Commission?

So, uh… cat bites are pretty bad, as it turns out. I was in the emergency room yesterday, after my sweet cat Franny sunk a tooth into the top of my left hand, causing it to swell up like a balloon. I’m now on a strong antibiotic and some strong painkillers, but it’s still a baseball mitt-sized mit that hurts like hell in any position other than upright and can’t be used. I’m typing with just my right hand, right now.

21 February 2012

Science

Motion-Sensing ‘Aural Gloves’ Make Hands Sing

American Sign Language may soon be obsolete if these motion-sensing gloves come to market. For now, a UBC team are the only ones to enjoy harmonizing with their own themselves.

14 September 2011

Science

Prune Fingers May Help You Hold Onto Things

Scientists know a lot about the body, but they don’t know everything. Take, for example, the pruning that occurs when you spend too much time in the water. Scientists don’t know why these wrinkles occur only on the hands and feet.

8 August 2011

Geek Out

I’m Pretty Sure This Hand Soap Is Trying To Kill Me

We love design at Gizmodo. It’s one of our things. But what happens when design doesn’t love us back, comes alive one night (I dunno, because of the debt ceiling or something) and decides to strangle us in our sleep?

25 May 2011

Science

Prosthetic Hand Isn’t Electric, But Performs Just Like It Is

I’d rather have a hook if I lost my hand in some sort of freak accident, but realise that’s not exactly conducive to typing. Rather than chucking in the tech-blogging for piracy, Mark Stark’s prosthetic hand is a worthy alternative.

18 November 2010

These Are The Hands Of The Apollo Astronauts

There are Neil’s. And there are Buzz’s. And Pete Conrad’s. And Alan Shepard’s. These are the hands of the Apollo astronauts, the plaster casts created to make their custom gloves in Houston, Texas, 1968. High five!

6 May 2010

Science

A Bionic Hand Is The Ultimate Bluetooth Accessory

The i-Limb bionic hand has always been a favourite around here, and it keeps getting better. Today, Touch Bionics announced that they’ve enhanced their incredibly capable prosthesis with the i-Limb Pulse. It’s got better gripping action, thanks to Bluetooth-enabled software.

11 March 2010

Geek Out

The Faces That Belong To Famous Hands

Hand models have it pretty good, don’t they? Show up, hold something for a few hours, collect cheques, repeat. It’s such a sweet gig, there’s gotta be something wrong with them, right? Wait… they’re all attractive, too? Well nuts.

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