I foresee complications . . .

The Daily Mail reports that a cybernetic hand may soon become part of online conversations.

A robotic hand has been developed which allows friends and family to hold hands with their loved ones over the internet.

The cyber-hand plugs into a computer and communicates with an electronic wristband to allow people talking over the internet to experience the sensation of touch.

The hand can grip and shake and give the signs for 'OK' and 'peace' and is expected to go on sale later this year.

It also picks up the strength of the hand movement and is capable of giving a weak or a firm handshake.

But the developers say the tool is currently incapable of more intricate or delicate movements - ruling it out for anyone wanting to get more intimate and touchy-feely with other people online.

However, they say it is only a matter of time and money before the hand will be able to produce a much wider range of sophisticated and intricate movements.

. . .

Professor Liu Yunhui, who led the team of Hong Kong researchers, said the robotic hand is able to almost instantly imitate the original motion of the human hand and offer the feeling of touch.

'At this moment the function is not perfect and it can’t copy exactly, partly because the robot hand is different from the human hand in terms of the degree of freedom of movement it has,' said Prof Liu.

'There are also few errors such as delays in processing and mechanical problems.

'But in the future it will be possible to produce more sophisticated and more dextrous movements.

'The main obstacle we have at the moment is the cost. Our project target was to produce a toy. It was intended to be low cost and so there were constraints because of the money we could spend.

'If you want high dexterity it is possible, but you need more motors and you have to spend more money.'

Prototypes of the hand look unappealingly like a surgical white glove but enhancements to make the hand more human-like in appearance and warm and soft to the touch are to be added soon, said Professor Liu.

'We are talking to a manufacturer about designing a more human-like hand from silicon rubber which we hope to have within the next month,' he said.

There's more at the link.

This looks like an interesting idea . . . but I foresee complications. A lot of Internet discussion degenerates into a slanging match. What if someone controls your remote hand so as to give you the finger - literally?





Peter