MEXICO: Robonaut, a humanoid robot sent to the International Space Station (ISS) by NASA to perform dangerous tasks outside the space station, is inspiring new biomedical technology that could both assist astronauts in space and help people with disabilities.
Three specific projects are now using technology NASA and General Motors utilized to build Robonaut.
RoboGlove is a device that fits onto human hands to assist their ability to grasp objects. It features flexible, high-strength tendons, an integrated controller, adjustable finger rings, and a sensor capable of measuring the grasping force used by its wearer.
The device, under development by a NASA-General Motors partnership, is most useful for astronauts on spacewalks, also known as extra-vehicular activity. Astronauts are hampered in their ability to grasp devices during spacewalks by the pressurization of their spacesuits.
Hand strength required for work on spacewalks can lead to fatigue and injury.
RoboGlove, currently undergoing testing, will be capable of enhancing human hand muscles, making spacewalk tasks easier for astronauts.
On Earth, RoboGlove could assist people suffering from hand injuries as well as those in jobs that require great hand strength or involve repetitive tasks.
NASA and GM hope to market RoboGlove through partnerships with commercial companies.
A second biomedical device inspired by Robonaut is the the X1, an exoskeleton being developed by NASA in conjunction with the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC), which has already pioneered a lower-extremity exoskeleton for use by paraplegics.
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