Japanese scientists develop world's largest 'biohybrid' robot hand

KARACHI, Pakistan

A team of Japanese researchers said that they developed "the largest of its kind" robot hand that moves using cultivated human muscle tissues.

Researchers hope that the biohybrid hand having five fingers will be applied to prosthetic hands, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported on Sunday.

The hand, which measures 18 centimeters (7.08 inches) in length, including a forearm section, moves individually using multiple joints and can perform complex finger movements, such as grasping and moving the tip of a small object, said the researchers at the University of Tokyo and Waseda University.

In contrast to the previous biohybrid devices that could only make a single-joint movement and were limited to about 1 centimeter (0.3 inches) in size, the team addressed the problem by bundling together multiple thin strings of muscle tissues into a sushi roll formation to act as one larger muscle.

As such design ensures nutrients reach each string, these tissues had enough strength to allow the robotic hand to move.

The research paves the way for increasing muscle strength in a biohybrid robot hand, said Shoji Takeuchi, a professor at the University of Tokyo, specializing in mechanical engineering.

"It could lead to realizing a humanlike robot or a precision prosthetic hand," Takeuchi was quoted as saying by Kyodo News.

The team's findings were published in the journal Science Robotics on Feb. 12.