Summary of the project

This research focuses on the hands and arms—the critical points of physical contact that enable AI-powered humanoid robots to work safely in people’s everyday living spaces. Our goal is to develop hands and arms that make grasping failures less likely to lead to serious accidents. Going beyond reliance on sensors and stop functions alone, we embed mechanisms inspired by the human body into the robot’s core physical structure. These include underactuation, which allows multiple joints to move with fewer actuators, and mechanical coupling that coordinates their motion. By building safety into the mechanism itself, we aim to create limbs that are less likely to exert dangerous forces, even when control systems malfunction or mistakes occur during learning.

Milestone by year 2028

By 2028, we aim to establish and physically demonstrate the foundational mechanisms of a robotic hand with safety built into its core structure. Drawing on underactuated, mechanically coupled motion in the human body, we will use variable-stiffness mechanisms, magnetic springs, and related elements to create initial prototypes of a safety-envelope mechanism designed to make transitions into states that could make serious accidents less likely.

To bring these concepts to life in physical prototypes, we will build on and further develop the Tadakuma Laboratory’s core technologies shown below: a one-dimensional variable-stiffness mechanism and a magnetic-spring-based magnet mechanism.

R&D Items

• [1] Extraction of Human Body-Inspired Principles of Underactuation and Mechanical Coupling
• [2] Design and Prototyping of an Inherently Safe Robotic Hand Mechanism
• [3] Mathematical Modeling and Design Optimization of the Safety Envelope
• [4] Establishment of Social Acceptance and Inherently Safe Operational Design

Performers

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