Wearable Robotic Third Arm Smashes Walls and Picks Vegetables
Posted on June 9, 2020
Researchers from the Université de Sherbrooke in Canada have developed a wearable robotic third arm that is mounted to humans around the waist. The third arm is capable of playing badminton and smashing through walls.
The Supernumerary 3DOF Robotic Arm was crated by the Createk Engineering Lab. It is powered by magnetorheological clutches and an hydrostatic transmission. The researchers say it is "fast enough to compensate for human motions while being safe for physical human-robot interaction."
Catherine Véronneau, the lead author of the research, talked to IEEE Spectrum about the Doc Ock-like creation. She says it is safe to wear. She says, "Because of the MR clutches, the mechanics is intrinsically safe (no inertia from geared motor, low arm inertia, low-friction, etc). Also, because MR clutches react quickly and are backdrivable, we can rapidly detect a contact (pressure increases) and apply a negative torque to not hurt anybody."
The robotic arm weighs about 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds) according to IEEE. It can be seen in action in the video below where it is used to paint, pick veggies, wash windows, smash walls, grab tools and play badminton.
The robot is controlled by a second person using a joystick in the video. It looks a little awkward at times but it could likely be improved to operate more smoothly with control through smart eyewear or headgear. It could also have an arm on each side to give the wearer four arms.