ETH Pioneer, Fellow Marcel Schuck, created a robotic hand that can pick things up without touching them. The robotic manipulator uses ultrasonic waves to control an object by “acoustic levitation.” Schuck developed the device with other researchers at ETH Zürich so that small, fragile items (such as precision watch parts) could be worked more securely.
Why create a robotic hand that can pick things up without touching them?
Because even the most delicate of manipulators available can be rough in handling extremely fragile pieces. Furthermore, no matter how soft the handle is, it still carries the risk of contaminating the object being manipulated. The best option would be no contact at all. With Schuck’s manipulator, the object won’t be touched by anything other than sound waves.
The lab has produced a prototype for the device. It consists of a lab-bench robotic arm with a pair of 3D-printed semi-spheres (scoops) as the “hand.” Inside each scoop is an array of tiny speakers.
The principle behind the device, acoustic levitation, is not a brand new breakthrough, but his innovative use of it is. It has been a known phenomenon for eight decades already! It involves ultrasonic waves creating a pressure field (or point). The field can’t be heard or seen by humans but is forceful enough to lift small items. When several of these pressure points are applied at once, they overlap each other in such a way that allows an object to be manipulated. The overlapping pressure fields are like invisible fingers.
ETH doctoral student, Marc Röthlisberger, wrote software that can control the pressure points within the scoops. Each speaker is responsible for its own pressure field projection. The software directs them all individually to work together and control an object by suspending it and moving it by the pressure points. They aim to be able to do this in real-time eventually. The method is highly precise and low cost.
Schuck’s ultimate goal is to link practical applications to no-touch robotics. He sees watchmaking or the microchip industry as likely candidates. He said:
Toothed gearwheels, for example, are first coated with lubricant, and then the thickness of this lubricant layer is measured. Even the faintest touch could damage the thin film of lubricant.
But first, the team is working on producing a development kit for prospective clients. They would like to establish a start-up business to manufacture their device by early 2021.
