SMAC Moving Coil Actuators introduced a prototype version of the direct drive servo motor robotic finger, acknowledged as a technological breakthrough by a leading European technical university, at the Automate 2015 show in Chicago. SMAC expects an early 2016 release to be shortly followed by a robotic thumb and ultimately the first true functional robotic hand capable of reproducing work done by human hands.
The motor is a servo ‘partial’ motor and is equipped with an SMAC rotary encoder with 15.5K counts per revolution. It achieves a high torque/diameter ratio due to the proprietary magnetic circuit design as well as the coil design. Another larger motor (35MM) acts as the second joint (MCP FLex). It puts out a torque of 630mNm and can exert a resultant force of 7N at the tip. Both motors move +/- 45 degrees, similar to human joints. The third motor operates as the first joint (MCP Abd). This joint moves from side to side. This motion is based on SMAC’s moving coil linear design, and meets the required parameters.
These motors have been integrated into a structure that allows them to operate and cover the same movement capability as a human’s finger. The structure weighs approximately 350g and is physically about 1.5x larger than the average male finger.