A new robotic hand, designed to grasp objects like a human one , is poised to go where no hand has gone before.

The Vishwa Extensor is a robotic hand operated by a person who senses what the hand feels. Connected to a diving suit or vehicle or a space suit it will allow people to work in extreme locations , including chemical, thermal or nuclear environments . This technology is a step up from bulky gloves or crude pincer like robotic manipulators.

Bhargav Gajjar of Vishwa Robotics and Massachusetts Institute of Technology thinks his invention “will shape the future of the human hand for use in extremes.” He notes that for centuries, ocean explorers had to be content with “lobster claws,” and more recently “robotic pincers mimicking lobster claw[s].” To him, the “most important part of a robotic structure in mimicking anthropomorphism and its use for exploration is the mimicry of arms and the hands on the remote vehicle. Attaching human like robotic arms and human like robotic hands will convert any autonomous vehicle into a human avatar that can grasp and feel the alien environment without endangering human life.”

(http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/lending-a-robotic-helping-hand-in-extreme-environments-video/)