Scientists at United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) are creating a hi-tech robot designed to mimic human movements – resembling something from epic sci-fi movie Avatar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The human-like robot \u2013 which has the potential to become a tool for bomb disposal but whose use could also be extended into other areas \u2013 is designed to give its operator the same control and sensations as if they were using their own limbs, allowing them to feel whatever it touches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first stage of the project has been developed, designed and built by Dr Fady Alnajjar, assistant professor in the Department of Information Technology at UAEU, and his team of specialists, with the United Arab Emirates Air Force providing Dh55,000 funding for the initial stages of the self-controlled, avatar robot\u2019s creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the movie Avatar, remotely-controlled human bodies are used to interact with the inhabitants of a distant moon. For all the futurism of the film, the basic premise of this form of robot control is closer than you might think. And as Dr Alnajjar explains, the project he is leading could bring a new dimension to robotics because of its advantage over regular robots, which are remote-controlled and have limitations. It is intended to give its user the ability to feel they are touching or holding an object, without actually being there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe only way to sense a situation at present through using a robot is through vision \u2013 there is no sensory or tactile feedback from the environment,\u201d he said. \u201cAlso, the user will only be controlling a robot\u2019s hand using a remote-controlled tool, but that is not like using an arm \u2013 it doesn\u2019t allow the same level of freedom, such as how far you need to open a hand and hold a grasp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen we control our own arm, we don\u2019t have to think of this type of thing; we don\u2019t have to consider how much freedom we need or how far to open our fingers to hold a cup or open and close and door. Our brains automatically control this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAEU project aims to, as Dr Alnajjar says, allow the person in control to simply act naturally in order to operate the robot. \u201cWe are building sensors which the controller can wear, and then all they need to do is move as if they actually are the robot,\u201d he outlined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t need to think about how they should lean to use the controller \u2013 they just move normally, and the robot mimics that motion. A human will have more control if it feels like they are actually using their own arm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Alnajjar and his team of four students have worked for more than a month to construct the first stage of the robot – two human-controlled arms working via highly sophisticated sensors and modeled on the arm of a person in their mid-30s \u2013 in order to have it ready for showcasing at IDEX, the biennial arms and defence technology sales exhibition held at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe cooperated with two companies as the arms are mostly constructed with three-dimensional parts, and we needed external help with 3D printers,\u201d he explained. \u201cEven one finger takes a day to print.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve so far built a left and a right arm, and we did this in different ways because we still need to discover how they can handle the kind of situation they would be used for. One of the arms has motors designed for heavy work, and one is designed for more accurate duties, such as separating two wires from each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOnce we show our work to experts such as the police, who deal with the kind of situations this robot may be used for, and they make suggestions to us, we will see which one we continue to build.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At present, the robot has been developed using wires about two metres long, which are connected to the gloves used for human control. Ultimately, however, the goal is to use wi-fi or wireless technology to allow the robot to be controlled from up to 15m away without any physical connection. The team also plans to incorporate technology that allows the robot\u2019s head \u2013 through a 360-degree camera \u2013 and upper limbs to be controlled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are now looking to prove the concept that such a type of robot will give its user more freedom to control at less cost,\u201d said Dr Alnajjar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt the moment, its functionality is at around 50-60 per cent. It now needs some fine-tuning in the field, and there is the potential for it be customized to meet the needs of a particular client. The benefit of 3D-printed products is that you can customize on request, as the technology is very sophisticated and very cost-effective \u2013 it is just a case of knowing how best to utilize it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe one key drawback is that the robot cannot carry really heavy objects, such as those made of iron. But we are not really targeting this as its use. With its potential to be used in bomb disposal, accuracy is the key requirement, and accuracy is what we are aiming for.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Scientists at United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) are creating a hi-tech robot designed to mimic human movements – resembling something from epic sci-fi movie Avatar. The human-like robot \u2013 which has the potential to become a tool for bomb disposal but whose use could also be extended into other areas \u2013 is designed to give […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}