Chapter 601 Bionic Manipulator(1/2)
Just when Xue Shen was studying like crazy in front of the computer.
In the same position on the fourth floor, Wang Dali was also lying in front of the computer, looking at the information on the screen fascinatedly.
"Wow, the robotic arm of this surgical robot is so dexterous."
"It's just like a real human arm, no, it's even more flexible than a human arm."
"It even uses some bionics of animal limbs, so it can achieve such outrageous operations."
"After learning the principles, I can apply it to the bionic robotic hands in the brain-computer interface project, giving patients more realistic hands."
Thinking of this, Wang Dali couldn't help but fell into deep thought, and his brain started working rapidly.
"The manipulator I made before was not perfect enough. It could only make some rough movements, such as pressing, pinching things with two fingers, etc. It was still far away from some fine operations."
"The structure of the human hand is very complex. There are 27 bones and 19 joints in the hand alone. The stability of the hand joints is provided by ligaments and joint capsules, which together form the structure of the entire hand."
"In addition, there are 28 muscles that cooperate with bones and joints to complete a series of exquisite movements."
"And all these tissue structures are fully controlled by 48 nerves to complete various fine movements that are closely related to daily life, such as grasping, pinching, releasing, and pointing fingers."
"In a single day, the hand can perform thousands of flexion and extension, finger pointing and grasping. Such powerful functions support humans to use various tools and become the top of the food chain."
"Well, to complete the daily movements of the hand, these thirteen basic functions must be completed."
"Dang, lift, touch, push, hit, dynamic operation, spherical grasp, spherical fingertip grip, cylindrical grasp, hook and pull, two-fingertip pinch, multi-fingertip pinch, side pinch."
"Let's start with the thirteen basic functions. If we can achieve these, the bionic hand can almost replace the real hand."
It took Wang Dali two weeks to roughly draw the mechanical drawings of these thirteen movements. This was only possible by using part of the surgical robot technology to complete it so quickly.
Fortunately, bionic hand technology has been developed for many years. Although low-end products are rampant, it is very easy to find suppliers.
He quickly found several suppliers to make prototypes for his drawings.
At the beginning, we created thirteen samples for thirteen movements, and then we studied how to make the movements smoother and lighter every day, and continued to improve the drawings.
He even wore a sensor device on each of his fingers to capture the curves of his hand movements and the strength of each movement.
Due to material and structural problems, the flexibility and strength of bionic fingers in holding things are different from real fingers.
For example, if you pick up an egg, ordinary people can pick it up with just one click. It seems very simple.
But considering that humans have been learning how to use their fingers since infancy, it is actually quite difficult to complete this step.
The bionic finger must not only achieve the force used by the finger, but also be equipped with a force sensor to respond to the force feedback of the egg shell.
If a normal person picks up an egg and suddenly loses focus, they may use too much force and crush the egg.
What's more, the body of steel itself is much stronger than flesh and blood.
With a little force, not only can you crush an egg, but you can even crush a glass with ease.
If you can't make real-time adjustments based on the force feedback, it's easy to just touch the egg and smash it to pieces before you even pick it up.
Therefore, this requires careful design from various aspects such as force feedback, signal acquisition and recognition, self-adjusting chips, and the material and structure of the product before the entire product can be formed.
Wang Dali led the newly established robotics laboratory, and a group of people worked hard like chicken blood.
After several months of hard work, we finally came up with a bionic manipulator.
It weighs about 450 grams, which is about the same weight as an adult's hand.
It can lift up to 10 kilograms of weight at a time. It has 12 movable joints and 6 driving degrees of freedom, allowing independent movement of 5 fingers and coordinated operation between fingers.
It not only has intuitive motion control and grasping motion feeling, but also can easily realize more than 20 gestures such as fist making, high five, and handshake.
Daily actions such as picking up eggs, twisting bottle caps, and tying shoelaces are no longer difficult.
Wang Dali even felt that with a certain degree of practice, strenuous sports such as rope skipping and tennis should be easy.
However, he did not install a brain-computer interface and could only use a joystick to operate, and the conclusions he obtained could not be considered very objective.
For further operation, it still depends on the effect of real people using it.
And this day is coming soon.
****
Sanqing Headquarters, Neuroscience Laboratory.
In the spacious and bright room, there is a strange set of tables and chairs.
Unlike ordinary chairs, this set of tables and chairs looks like a normal dining table divided in half by a wall.
The table was only half, the chair was only half, and there was a hole at the shoulder on the partition to the left of the chair.
At this time, Zhang Li was sitting quietly on a chair, stuffing her left arm into the hole. No matter which direction she looked at, she looked like a disabled person who had lost his left arm.
The wall-like partition on the left blocked her line of sight very well, preventing her from seeing her missing arm.
On the table in front of her, there was a plastic cover that separated her from a very realistic bionic arm.
From her perspective, it was easy to think that the arm on the table was her own arm and hand.
Zhang Li kept staring at the bionic arm.
Chen Yiqing sat opposite her, holding a brush in his hand, gently touching the bionic arm, and asked.
"Do you feel it?"
Zhang Li stared at the bionic arm, nodded slowly, and said, "I feel it."
"Is it the hand in front of you or your left hand?" Chen Yiqing continued to ask.
Zhang Li frowned, thought for a few seconds, and replied: "The strange thing is that the hand in front of me feels like it is my own real hand."
"Next, close your eyes."
Zhang Li closed her eyes obediently.
"Move your left hand." Chen Yiqing's deep voice came, as if it had a kind of magic power, making people can't help but do as he said.
The group of people sitting next to him immediately held their breath and stared at the bionic arm on the table.
The arm was silent for a few seconds, and then a finger moved with difficulty.
Soon, the other four fingers started to move one after another.
The entire palm began to open and close, and made a grasping motion in the void.
Just like a natural hand.
"Very good, open your eyes now." Chen Yiqing said with a smile, while taking out a white toffee from his pocket.
Zhang Li opened her eyes again, and when she saw the white White Rabbit toffee for the first time, she immediately jumped for joy.
"toffee!"
Chen Yiqing held the toffee between his fingers and slowly moved it towards the bionic arm.
Zhang Li's eyes still followed the toffee, but the bionic hand on the table slowly turned over.
The palm naturally opens upward, and the five fingers are stretched out, like a budding rosette, waiting for the arrival of toffee.
All this happens unconsciously.
When the toffee falls from the sky and lands on the palm of your hand as expected.
With a cheer, the bionic hand closed instantly with lightning speed, holding the toffee tightly in its palm.
"The toffee is delicious, please peel it open and eat it." Chen Yiqing encouraged with a smile.
Zhang Li's right hand, which had been placed under the table, began to move.
Although the movements were not as convenient as usual due to a plastic plate, her right hand still cooperated perfectly with the bionic hand.
Two hands, one real and one fake, deftly and quickly peeled off the toffee wrapper, picked up the round cylinder, and stuffed it into her mouth.
"Well, it's so sweet." Zhang Li showed a satisfied smile.
Bang bang bang!
Warm applause resounded throughout the room.
Chen Yiqing also stood up from his chair and clapped excitedly at Zhang Li.
"The bionic arm is very successful, and the control of the brain-computer interface is also very smooth, as smooth as a natural hand, making people unaware of its existence."
"Not only can he accurately control each finger with his mind and make various movements to grab things, he can also make multiple gestures such as OK, and successfully complete some delicate operations such as entering passwords, peeling off candy wrappers, and clenching fists."
"For those paraplegic patients, with such a bionic hand, they can regain their ability to take care of themselves through the brain-computer interface, and they are one step closer to normal people."
"Lily, on behalf of the entire team, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for your selfless dedication."
Zhang Li slowly chewed the toffee in her mouth, smiled and nodded.
But the bionic hand suddenly opened its palm towards everyone.
Then, he raised his index finger and moved it gently.
This scene instantly made the applause in the room become more intense.
There were also bursts of whistles from Wenrenlong.
To be continued...