Shadow Robot unveiles its new Robot Hand at ICRA 2024

As we prepare to attend and sign at ICRA 2024 in Yokohama, we caught up with Matthew Godden, Senior Robotics Invent Engineer. He has been at Shadow for right over 25 years, at the start place as his twelve months out in trade after which after he graduated in 2000 with a level in robotics and electronic engineering. He has designed all manner of robotic physique formulation – in his phrases “anything that strikes!”  –  and is moreover spirited in increasing the corporate’s product strategy.

The very first time Shadow Robot exhibited in Japan became once at Robodex 2002 in Yokohama. Can you share the background of how that came about and your abilities because the finest international exhibitor?

“A minute group of us attended including our Founder, Richard Greenhill. We had been invited to bring our Biped which became once one amongst our first robots, carved from wood and powered by pneumatic muscle groups. Incidentally it became once moreover displayed at the Science Museum!

The Biped became once of particular pastime because it became once a portion of robotics history. It became once one amongst the main robots outdoors of Japan to scamper forwards on two legs. On the expose Honda had ASIMO, easiest two years outdated at the time, and Sony had been showing SDR (Sony Dream Robot), so the Biped became once keeping some factual company!

We moreover took our hand – an air muscle powered paunchy arm and shoulder, with a forearm bristling with pneumatic muscle groups. It became once our second prototype (the main became once carved from wood, savor the Biped) – and the predecessor to the Shadow hand we know right now.

The reception became once big; we had crowds of the Jap public on our stand asking questions (by job of the interpreter) and interacting with our robots. There became once a quantity of curiosity and previous-time round what became once being developed outdoors of Japan. At one point, we ran a handshake demo, nevertheless the extinct throng of people became trusty into a protracted, polite queue strolling up to the robotic to shake its hand, after which strolling away. So, we switched attend to the joy of swinging the hand via the crowd, infrequently bumping into anyone and gently bouncing off them ensuing from the air muscle groups.”

How has robotics in Japan influenced Shadow?

“As some distance attend as 1996 (rather of whereas before I joined Shadow) Honda released P2, the second in its prototype Humanoid series the predecessor to ASIMO. It became once then that Shadow realised it became once strong for us to compete with developments funded by the broad advertising and marketing budgets of this kind of global company. But we realised that when you’d need legs to pass locations, you’ll would prefer to operate one thing when you rep there. That’s after we started engaged on arms for robots.

Now there are rather about a groups engaged on humanoid robots, and we’re amassed engaged on the arms. Dexterous manipulation is an moving sing!”

What inspired the resolution to advance attend to Yokohama for ICRA 2024?

“We be pleased a stand at IROS and/or ICRA most years. But this time it feels equivalent to that first time out as we are in the damage ready to focus on this good collaboration with Google DeepMind. After working collectively for a total lot of years, we’ll be unveiling our fresh strong hand.

The fresh Shadow Hand is the final outcome of a total attend-to-basics temporary, focussing on gaining access to all layers of attend a watch on for their machine finding out agents so as to work alongside with the abilities and learn manipulation skills from the bottom up, whereas being strong passable to continue to exist the early phases of reinforcement finding out.

There wasn’t a requirement for this hand to be anthropomorphic as AI doesn’t be pleased the preconception of human arms savor we feature out. To produce the robustness and ease of repair Google DeepMind required we went for a modular come as an different. It is most frequently mentioned that what makes human arms factual at manipulation is having opposable thumbs. I would prefer to imagine this fresh hand as having three of them!”

We imagine the fresh hand represents a transformative step for machine finding out robots. ICRA 2024 is an fair opportunity to blow their very own horns this fresh dexterous hand, to stare how members work alongside with it and hear what they divulge.”

We’re all taking a leer forward to seeing how ICRA attendees react to DEX-EE. Is there anything you would be taking a leer forward to seeing or doing at ICRA this twelve months?

“It is always factual to attend the exhibition and conference to stare what the robotics community is increasing. Also using on the Shinkansen (bullet prepare) and attempting jiggly cheesecake.”

Join us at gross sales location IC032!