Boston Dynamics, the robotics affiliate of Hyundai Motor (005380) Group, has unveiled for the first time a new robotic hand to be fitted on its Atlas humanoid robot.
The company released a video on the 1st showing Atlas equipped with the new hand. In the footage, the robot picked up a slender drill bit, attached it to a power drill and bored a hole into a piece of wood. Operating a power drill requires precise control of force and movement in individual fingers, because the handle must be held steady while a button is pressed.
Atlas also demonstrated tightening a nut by rotating it with its fingers. It spun a long, thin drumstick between its fingers and freely rotated and repositioned two golf balls within its hand, showing dexterity in handling objects with different shapes and friction properties.
The new hand is built around four fingers and achieves 13 degrees of freedom, double the seven of the previous design. Degrees of freedom refers to the number of joints, or motions, a robot can move independently. The thumb has four degrees of freedom, allowing it to perform fine pinching motions with the other fingers. The remaining fingers each have three degrees of freedom, letting the hand spread its fingers and control the fingertips in detail.
The hand resembles a human hand in size and shape, but was completed without a little finger after weighing design complexity, power consumption, cost efficiency, durability and ease of repair. "We explored the optimal design through experiments, simulations and 3D-printed mockups, and after the entire team of developers spent full working days with their own little fingers taped down, we concluded that we could do without one finger," said Alberto Rodriguez, who leads behavior and manipulation technology development for Atlas.
The new hand also features tripod and tripolar grips that allow it to manipulate objects while holding them securely. Tactile sensing applied across the fingertips and palm detects even minute contact forces. Improved proprioception allows Atlas to precisely control finger position, movement and force through its actuators.
Boston Dynamics said it had simplified the structure of the hand and modularized key components to secure the durability and ease of maintenance required on industrial sites, while also taking into account the potential for large-scale mass production in the future.
The company is in the midst of training Atlas for deployment on automotive production lines. On the 30th of last month, it opened the Robotics Metaplant Application Center (RMAC) inside Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA), where it will teach Atlas the tasks required in auto manufacturing and verify its performance before sending the robot to an actual production line.
Hyundai Motor Group is building a robotics ecosystem by pooling capabilities across affiliates including Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Glovis. Atlas will first be deployed on parts-sequencing work at HMGMA, the group's production complex in the U.S. state of Georgia, starting in 2028, before expanding to parts assembly processes from 2030.
