This DIY Robotic Hand Can Sign the Entire ASL Alphabet Ambidextrously
Kelvin Gonzalez created a DIY robotic hand that can sign the entire ASL alphabet, transitioning between signs with impressive dexterity.
We’ve seen increasingly rapid development in the area of humanoid robotics over the last few years, with several notable designs, like Tesla’s Optimus and Unitree’s affordable R1, getting a lot of attention. The idea — beyond simply being cool — is that those robots can seamlessly inhabit human spaces, manipulate objects designed for humans, and interact with humans in a natural way. Communication is a big part of that last bit and it will need to include sign language. To work towards that goal, Kelvin Gonzalez developed this DIY robotic hand that can sign the entire ASL (American Sign Language) alphabet ambidextrously.
In ASL, as with other sign languages, most handshapes refer to specific concepts (somewhat analogous to English words). But there are situations in which someone might need to spell out a word using the ASL alphabet, such as a name of someone for whom they haven’t yet assigned a personalized sign. But a robotic hand that can sign the entire ASL alphabet should be capable of any handshape and Gonzalez’s robotic hand can do that.
The Vulcan V3 is 3D-printed and sort of looks like The Infinity Gauntlet, but it is a functional robotic hand with very impressive dexterity. It has a total of 24 servos: four in each finger, five in the thumb, two in the wrist, and one in the forearm. Those servos operate under the control of an Arduino Mega board through a PCA9685-based servo driver and no other electronic components are necessary, so the costs are quite low. Gonzalez estimates it at less than $300 and most of that cost is, presumably, the servo motors themselves.
Gonzalez started this project a few years ago, but then put it on the back burner for a while. He recently threw himself back into development and the result is great.
The hand is very dexterous, with the ability to quickly and smoothly transition between signs. That’s all controlled by the Arduino, so the processing is efficient. And the best part is that it is ambidextrous.
That might sound a little strange, because it is just a single hand. But unlike a human hand, it can reverse itself and flip around. It can act as a left hand and do those signs, then flip itself and act as a right hand. That has interesting applications even outside of sign language.