Wrist-mounted Robot Could Add Two Fingers to Your hand

Can you remove a bottle cap using a single hand? You can with a wearable robot.

A wrist-mounted robot created by MIT(Massachusetts Institute of Technology) could add two long fingers to human hand so people can perform everyday routines more easily, especially for the elderly and people with disabilities.

According to the developers Professor Harry Asada and graduate student Faye Wu, the robot enhances the human hand’s natural grasping motion. It is worn around the wrist and essentially provides a pair of extra, artificial digits – extend beside the thumb and pinky that automatically move in synch as the wearer moves his or her actual fingers.

“We could make this into a watch or a bracelet where the fingers pop up, and when the job is done, they come back into the watch. Wearable robots are a way to bring the robot closer to our daily life.”

(Read more: Mashable)