Chinese scientists develop low-cost, flexible robotic hands

HEFEI - Newly-developed robotic hands by Chinese researchers were unveiled at a sci-tech exhibition on Tuesday in East China's Anhui province.

The robotic hands, developed by researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), have advanced grasping abilities compared with those on the market. They can complete flexible movements including picking up pieces of paper, glazed bowls, soft tofu and fluffy cakes and place them in designated places.

With the hands, robots can grasp and place different objects steadily and accurately after judging the shape and size of the item.

The current robotic hands in China can hardly conduct such sophisticated movements, and the imported robotic hands with such functions are very expensive.

The new robotic hands cost no more than 1,000 yuan (about 145 US dollars), said Chen Xiaoping, director of the Robotics Laboratory at USTC, adding that this gives them an advantage for wider application.

According to Chen, the hands will be first installed on "Kejia," a home service robot developed by USTC, and are expected to be used in more fields such as elderly care services and logistics in the future.