god hand robot ready to get you with his kung-fu grip

September 7th, 2009 comments stumble it! digg it! by: technabob

Give your robot a hand (or two) with these incredibly complex mechanical digits from Japan’s Crafthouse. Instead of the typical grippers you might find on a hobby robot, Crafthouse’s servo-controlled GOD HANDs give miniature robots a set of flexible digits that work much like their human masters’ appendages.

robo_one_god_hands

While each finger can’t be independently controlled, they’re still pretty amazing. Check out the video below to see these marvels of mechanical engineering in action:

The cream of the crop handmade miniature hands cost a bank-account-draining ¥180,000 (appx $1935 USD), but the craftsmanship and engineering feat alone could justify the high cost for true robot fanatics. And don’t forget you’ll still have to spend another ¥16,000 (appx. $171 USD) per hand on a Kondo KRS-4014SHV servo motor to drive each one.

If your pockets aren’t deep enough to afford a pair of GOD HANDs, Crafthouse is offering a pair of hands called the Melissa Hand Type-1, retailing for “just” ¥60,000 (appx. $645 USD). Because they’re mass-produced, the Melissa hands are quite a bit bigger, so don’t expect to put them on a really small robot. Still, they’re pretty cool.

melissa_robot_hands