JAPANESE RESEARCHERS UNVEIL WORLD’S LARGEST BIOHYBRID ROBOT HAND

Fri 07 March 2025:

A group of Japanese scientists announced they’ve created “the largest of its kind” robotic hand, powered by cultivated human muscle tissue. According to Tokyo-based Kyodo News on Sunday, the researchers aim for this five-fingered biohybrid hand to be used in prosthetic applications.

The hand, which measures 18 centimeters (7.08 inches) in length, including a forearm section, moves individually using multiple joints and can perform complex finger movements, such as grasping and moving the tip of a small object, said the researchers at the University of Tokyo and Waseda University.

In contrast to the previous biohybrid devices that could only make a single-joint movement and were limited to about 1 centimeter (0.3 inches) in size, the team addressed the problem by bundling together multiple thin strings of muscle tissues into a sushi roll formation to act as one larger muscle.

As such design ensures nutrients reach each string, these tissues had enough strength to allow the robotic hand to move.

The research paves the way for increasing muscle strength in a biohybrid robot hand, said Shoji Takeuchi, a professor at the University of Tokyo, specializing in mechanical engineering.

“It could lead to realizing a humanlike robot or a precision prosthetic hand,” Takeuchi was quoted as saying by Kyodo News.

The team’s findings were published in the journal Science Robotics on Feb. 12.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

__________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

WhatsApp CHANNEL
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22