With its learning capabilities going beyond the competition, the humanoid robot Phoenix was already one step ahead. Today, the Canadian company Sanctuary AI which develops it wanted to show the dexterity of the robot with its articulated hands. Each with five fingers, they are capable of holding and precisely manipulating an object in a coordinated manner. While robotic hands generally articulate via small electric motors, Sanctuary AI has focused on another technology: hydraulics. Hydraulic valve actuators make it possible to articulate the phalanges accurately, vitesse and strength.
For the firm, this technology is the only one that can give these versatile capabilities to a robot, because with other systems, only certain types of tasks are accessible. Thus, as Sanctuary AI had already clarified a few months ago, Phoenix can just as easily thread a thread into a needle, press a button with an appropriate force, or lift a 25 kilo suitcase. The robot might just as well be adept at quickly typing text from a keyboard, without blowing up the keys. These hydraulic actuators also have the advantage of having a better longevity and they are also more resistant to shocks and temperature variations than their motorized equivalents.
Hydraulics are the most versatile
While the robot had already demonstrated its pre-emptive capabilities with 33 types of precision for grasping objects, the robotic hand now has 21° of freedom of maneuver. She can both hold an object and manipulate it in her hand. In the last video presented, the robot shows, for example, how it can adjust the opening width of an adjustable wrench. This precision in the gesture is made possible thanks to a force feedback system integrated into each actuator. This makes it possible to adapt the pression necessary, no more, no less. This system calculates the pressure differences of the fluid contained in the articulated elements and adapts the necessary force by carefully varying the hydraulic pressure.
As for the sustainabilityaccording to Sanctuary AI, two billion test cycles have been carried out to verify the absence of wear or leaks of liquid. If Phoenix is very skilled with his fingers, what is valid for the hands is not necessarily valid for the rest of a robot's body. Thus, instead of a heavy hydraulic system, like that of the Atlas from Boston Dynamics, the Chinese H1 robot from Unitree is capable of performing backflips, with the sole force of motors. But when it comes to manipulating objects, the stakes are different. In fact, for Sanctuary AI, this dexterity is a key element that will define the size of the humanoid robot market.
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