Factory work simply isn’t easy. I’ll choose writing over factory work any day of the week, but others don’t have that luxury. And to ensure they’re protected, we’re going to have to figure out ways in alleviating the physical stress being forced upon their bodies. Thanks to a new partnership between Bioservo Technologies, GM, and NASA, the answer to our plea for help might just be one RoboHand away.
“Robotic glove technology developed out of a partnership between General Motors and NASA for use on the International Space Station is finding new life on Earth in health care, manufacturing and other industrial applications [through] a licensing agreement between GM and Bioservo Technologies AB, a Swedish medical technology company.”
– General Motors
Below is a video showing the GM and NASA’s RoboGlove’s capabilities.
A concept design for how the RoboGlove will interact with NASA’s own personal robot in space.
Photo Credit: General Motors
Now Bioservo Technologies are joining forces with both companies to help increase efficiency in their RoboGlove. Bioservo will be combining GM-NASA’s technology with that of their own, known as the SEM Glove (Soft Extra Muscle). It’ll use biologically-inspired sensors, actuators, and tendons to help increase strength and allow people to handle equipment and tools they normally wouldn’t be able to in a significant way.
FUTURE IMPLICATIONS
What we’re looking at here is the merging of man and machine. The RoboHand is a unique extension to the growing exoskeleton market that will soon cascade across all industries which require physical work. By combining the strength of robots to that of humans, we’ll be able to increase the efficiency of our work, all the while ensuring the health of our human workers aren’t being strained beyond their limits. This technology will also be used to help those whom are disabled to become able-bodied again, and even our senior citizen population, helping them become as mobile as when they were young.