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Innovators have crafted a separable robotic arm that can creep into confined locations to gather items.
Within a study released on Jan. 20 in the scientific publication Nature Communications, researchers at the Swiss Federal Technology Institute of Lausanne (EPFL) mentioned the robot was conceived to unify a pair of aptitudes that are often maintained as discrete in robotics: handling and movement.
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The manipulator can furthermore work separately from an entire, mobile robot foundation. Instead, it purely uncouples from a robotic limb and darts off to wherever it’s required, grabs the entity, and returns to reattach itself.
This may render it valuable in circumstances where robots must enter or recover objects from areas that are excessively restricted or perilous for human arms to reach, such as industrial or exploratory settings and locations influenced by disasters, the investigators pointed out.
“We can easily perceive the drawbacks of the human extremity when attempting to access objects underneath furniture or behind shelves, or executing simultaneous actions like supporting a container while retrieving a chip,” study co-author Aude Billard, chief of the Learning Algorithms and Systems Laboratory inside EPFL’s School of Engineering, remarked in a declaration.
“Similarly, gaining access to entities situated behind the appendage while maintaining a stable grip can be exceedingly difficult, necessitating uncomfortable wrist distortions or body repositioning.”
Handy robotics
Robotic extensions, such as arms, have been created before. The human hand is, in any case, viewed as a biological phenomenon; it’s granted humans the skill needed to fabricate implements, prepare provisions, and erect shelter, all of which have proven pivotal for our survival as a species.
Still, human extremities do possess some distinctly biological shortcomings, the researchers observed. For example, our asymmetrical thumbs and the perpetual linking of our extremities to our upper limbs.
EPFL’s robot is essentially a self-governing mechanism that can either function like a typical “clamp” on the termination of a limb or detach itself and scamper about on its own accord. The blueprint derives inspiration from the natural world, with the researchers equating it to the manner in which an octopus utilizes its limbs to traverse the seabed and unseal shells, or the way a praying mantis employs its spiked forelimbs to both ambulate and secure sustenance.
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During trials, the investigators displayed the appendage executing numerous standard clutching and securing exercises, as well as completing more intricate feats of skill that humans habitually struggle with. These encompassed supporting numerous entities at once or securing entities without utilizing the thumb or forefinger.
The robotic extremity can not only clutch up to four objects simultaneously, but it can furthermore creep across the ground while transporting items on its “back.”
Each digit of the robot is powered by petite electric mechanisms and connected via lightweight 3D-printed couplings, enabling them to contort and disperse similarly to human fingers. Unusually to a human extremity, however, each finger coupling can flex both forward and backward, empowering it to snatch entities in either orientation and “invert” its operational positioning without the necessity to swivel at the wrist.
The fingertips are capped with a supple silicone coating to add resistance, rendering it simpler to securely support entities and uphold grip when creeping. “There is no concrete restriction in the quantity of objects it can support; if we need to support more objects, we merely affix additional digits,” Billard articulated.
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The appendage reattaches to the limb employing a “snap-and-lock” arrangement. Magnets facilitate the alignment of the connectors, and a small motor drives a locking bolt that secures the couplings.
The arrangement could ultimately be adapted for human prosthetics or “extra limb” augmentation, the group stated, though this isn’t the core of the present prototype.
“The symmetrical, reversible functionality is particularly valuable in scenarios where users could benefit from capabilities beyond normal human function,” Billard stated.
“For example, previous studies with users of additional robotic fingers demonstrate the brain’s remarkable adaptability to integrate additional appendages, suggesting that our non-traditional configuration could even serve in specialized environments requiring augmented manipulation abilities.”
Article Sources
Gao, X., Yao, K., Junge, K. et al. A detachable crawling robotic hand. Nat Commun 17, 428 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67675-8
Owen Hughes
Owen Hughes is a freelance author and editor specializing in data and digital technologies. Formerly a senior editor at ZDNET, Owen has been writing about tech for more than a decade, during which time he has covered everything from AI, cybersecurity and supercomputers to programming languages and public sector IT. Owen is particularly interested in the intersection of technology, life and work – in his previous roles at ZDNET and TechRepublic, he wrote extensively about business leadership, digital transformation and the evolving dynamics of remote work.
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