Fortis Manus

Fortis Manus was designed to be a lower-cost but functional manipulator to emulate functions of a normal human hand. Similar to the weight, size, and grip strength of a human hand, our manipulator is the first step towards bringing dexterous robotic technology from the realm of expensive research and development to a place where the practical foundations of an artificial hand can be made available to a large audience. This lower cost implementation consists of a single thumb and forefinger as well as an enlarged gripping phalange to take the place of the remaining three fingers. Locomotion was achieved via a system of Kevlar cables that when under tension curl the fingers in towards the palm. The phalanges, should the cables relax, would then return to their open position when via a system of torsional springs located within the joints connecting the phalange segments. Made of stainless steel and partially skinned in silicone rubber, the manipulator body is designed to be corrosion resistant as well as sufficiently resilient to maintain a 100 pound grip force each phalange tip.