Shadow Robot Company (sounds as though they manufacture cyborg ninjas and samurais) is well known for creating the 24-degrees of freedom dexterous hand, and they are now credited with adding tactile sensors to the hand as well. Each sensor comes with either 34 or 22 active tactile elements (known as tactels), making them inch closer toward the sensitivity of our human skin. The tactels are available in a couple of sizes – as a finger tip or a thumb, but they can also be custom made to virtually any shape you desire. These new sensors were researched and developed for future use in new prosthetics, perhaps helping the disabled “feel” once again via their artificial limbs.
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