178. Talk to The Hand: Meet The Robots With a Human Touch
Daniel and Forbode discuss a team from MIT, including lead author Sandra Lou, who developed the 'Gel Palm' robotic hand to address the lack of tactile feedback in current robotic designs. The system combines a semi-flexible endoskeleton with a soft gel layer and uses embedded LEDs and Raspberry Pi cameras to reconstruct 3D geometry and pressure data from reflected light. The hosts highlight the platform's ability to handle delicate objects safely and its potential application in creating more human-like prosthetics, noting the use of off-the-shelf components like Adafruit LEDs and 3D printed molds.