BorgCo's latest product looks on first sight like a pair of gauntlet gloves. However, extending from the back, follwing the line of the index finger on each hand, is a strut - fixed firmly to the glove back - with a 1:10 scale mechanical hand at the end. The fingers of the hand are linked by cords and spring loaded linkages to the fingers of the glove. When the wearer moves their fingers within the gloves, the minature hand faithfully replicates their movements.

Useful for precision electronics, modelmaking, watchmaking, and extracting exceptionaly stubborn bogeys.
-- 8th of 7, Jun 02 2010

External Mechanical Keyboard Actuator External_20Mechanic...Keyboard_20Actuator
See annotation by [Twizz], Aug 07 2009 [pocmloc, Jun 02 2010]

Why sugar-coat an idea clearly inspired by futile bogey extraction?
-- rcarty, Jun 02 2010


Mmmm - sugar-coated bogies.. [+]
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Jun 02 2010


Have a bun, then suck on it as I shoot you four middle fingers!
-- MikeD, Jun 02 2010


//cords and spring loaded linkages to the fingers of the glove//

I am very skeptical about this working - but I love the idea so here: .
{tiny croissant}
-- Jinbish, Jun 02 2010


The iterative version of this could be used for constructing nanobots.
-- bungston, Jun 02 2010


I once made a glove where each finger terminated in a tiny hand.... not sure where it is now, but I'll have a look for it. I still have the drawing of it somewhere too. I'll post if I can find. Hands were not mechanical though like this idea, just decorative.
-- xenzag, Jun 02 2010


Remote manipulator arms/hands are routinely used in so-called "hot boxes" to allow safe manipulation of radioactive materials, and some of them allow for pantographic reduction.

I would think the difficulty in using the "tiny hands" version would be getting appropriate feedback (visual or haptic). Would likely need some form of magnification.

Don't microsurgeons use something similar when performing precision surgery?
-- csea, Jun 02 2010


Surely hydraulics would be simpler than cords.

Each movement of any part of the glove would push or pull on a hydraulic cylinder, which would be connected (via a tube) to a hydraulic cylinder on the mini-hand.

The mini hand's cylinder would have 10x the cross section of the glove's actuator, which would result in the necessary speed reduction. This would also result in the mini-hand being stronger than one's real hand... a possible boon.
-- goldbb, Jun 02 2010


//Surely hydraulics would be simpler than cords// A good idea if you're designing your manipulator from scratch; however, in this case, the manipulator is hand-shaped. The problem -- I'm not sure how serious -- is that the shape of a hand is "designed" for actuators that 1) bend around pulleys and 2) pull, not push. Also, there are mechanical synergies (like: you can't flex your distal interphalangeal joint without also flexing your proximal one) which are lost with a "pushing" actuator. Now, a hydraulic cylinder could "pull" but the force would come from atmospheric pressure, which is fixed, and it would be acting against a very small surface, so not much force.
-- mouseposture, Jun 02 2010


tiny-high-five [+]
-- swimswim, Jun 03 2010


//Now, a hydraulic cylinder could "pull" but the force would come from atmospheric pressure//

Uh, never heard of a double acting hydraulic ram, [mouse]? All's you need is two hoses...
-- Custardguts, Jun 03 2010


Oh yeah, bun for the idea, I love it.
-- Custardguts, Jun 03 2010


Kudos to [csea] for the phrase "pantographic reduction"
-- hippo, Jun 03 2010


+ gripping ....and maybe nose picking, too!
-- xandram, Jun 03 2010


I think I might knead these.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jun 03 2010



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