MIT's Shoulder Mounted Technology Gives Humans Two Extra Arms
Posted on June 3, 2014
MIT researchers are developing a device called Supernumerary Robotic Limbs (SRLs). The SRL gives humans two extra arms to use. The shoulder-mounted SRLs were presented at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Hong Kong. The MIT developers say that unlike conventional exoskeletons, the SRL arms "act as third and fourth arms and therefore augment the workspace and the skills of the human."
The technology was developed at MIT's d'Arbeloff Laboratory. IEEE Spectrum reports that each robot arm has five degrees of freedom. The entire device weighs about 4.5 kilograms (10 pounds). The image below shows how the extra robot arms could help a person open a door while they are using their human arms to carry a box.
Here are a couple videos showing the SRL in use. Take a look:
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