Delft arm and hand

The Delft Arm and Hand Project aims at developing a three-fingered hand as well as a low-power and safe robotic arm. Initiated at the Delft Biorobotiocs Lab (DBL), the project aims at making significant contributions to the field of robotics.

Based on this project, an under-actuated gripper will serve as a lightweight hand with three fingers. DBL has already developed its first proof-of-concept prototype but a patent is still pending. Each finger of the robotic hand has two degrees of freedom while all fingers are actuated by a single low-power motor. Armed with a force sensor, the hand uses sophisticated mechanisms to get a robust grip on diverse objects with the least amount of sensing and control.

DBL is also working on a low-power robotic arm that will have four degrees of freedom. As compared to traditional factory robots, this arm boasts a low mass while using low-power motors. As a result, the robotic arm is affordable as well as safe.

The arm’s design relies on the idea of static balancing, where adjustable springs are used to balance the mass. Armed with four low-power motors along with four rotary encoders, the arm has a total mass of around ten kg. DBL has already developed a first proof-of-concept prototype but a patent is still pending.