Aaron Dollar, Yale University Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science, is the principal investigator of GRAB Lab. His research interests focus on the design, analysis, and control of compliant mechanisms. His work in this area has earned him the Nobel Prize in Engineering. This article will review the research of this distinguished scientist. Here are some of his accomplishments. Listed below are just a few of his most impressive publications. To read more, visit his website.
Dollar began his studies by doing experiments with his hands in his early years. He was interested in how his hands reacted to different tasks. He began by tapping his hands with a hammer. Dollar moved his fingers up-and-down, making them bend and shake before they fell back into place. Then, he placed a volleyball into the bowl created by his upturned fingers. He placed it off-center. Later experiments showed him how to grab a block of wood or lightbulbs and how to operate the remote with his hand. He also lifted a wine glass.
A robotic hand was one of Dollar’s most significant inventions. He designed a four-fingered hand that contained two joints and a single tendon. The fingers were made of a combination of soft plastics and sat in opposition to each other. After a period of relaxation, they lowered into a shallow U shape. The force was distributed evenly by a pulley at their base. The robotic hand was capable of grasping a variety objects and did so without any preprogramming. In the future, he may be able to use such a device to make prosthetics.
Although it is impossible to create an artificial hand that is completely synthetic, it is still fascinating. Aaron Dollar is an assistant professor at Yale University of mechanical engineering. His research is focused on the design, analysis and control of compliant mechanism. The ultimate goal is to create a robot that can grasp objects. Although his robotic hand won’t be completely synthetic, it will be cheaper to make and require less processing power than a traditional metal hand.