Giving Robots and Prostheses the 'Human Touch'
From: Medical Design Technology - 04/07/2015

Research engineers and students in the University of California, Los Angeles
(UCLA) Biomechatronics Lab are designing artificial limbs to be more
sensational, with the emphasis on sensation.

With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the team, led by
mechanical engineer Veronica J. Santos, is constructing a language of touch
that both a computer and a human can understand. The researchers are
quantifying this with mechanical touch sensors that interact with objects of
various shapes, sizes and textures. Using an array of instrumentation,
Santos' team is able to translate that interaction into data a computer can
understand.

The data is used to create a formula or algorithm that gives the computer the
ability to identify patterns among the items it has in its library of
experiences and something it has never felt before. This research will help
the team develop artificial haptic intelligence, which is, essentially,
giving robots, as well as prostheses, the "human touch."

Read the entire article and view a video (3:47) at:
http://www.mdtmag.com/videos/2015/04/giving-robots-and-prostheses-human-touch

Links:
UCLA Biomechantronics Lab
https://uclabiomechatronics.wordpress.com

Veronica J. Santos
http://www.mae.ucla.edu/people/faculty/veronica-santos