#Nick fink wrists skin#

Means to manufacture them, and their additional application as mechanoreceptors are described. Two classes of muscle-like bulk MEMS electrostatic actuators are shown theoretically to be capable of meeting these requirements. The performance requirements of skeletal muscles are identified. A method for thermoplastically drawing fine elastic fibres, with liquid metal amalgam cores, for connecting embedded sensors is demonstrated. A palate of materials and layup techniques are identified for emulating ligaments, joint surfaces, tendon networks, sheaths, soft matrices, and dermal structures. The biomechanical mechanisms of the hand and their support of sensorimotor control are presented. The material and mechanical anatomy of the hand is reviewed, highlighting difficulty of numerical measurement in soft-tissue anatomy, and the predictive nature of descriptive anatomical knowledge. This thesis investigates synthetic materials and manufacturing techniques to enable building robots that reproduce the biomechanics and tactile sensitivity of vertebrates – histomimetic robotics. Much of the subtlety of the mechanism of the hand lies in the soft tissues, and the tactile and proprioceptive sensitivity depends on the large number of mechanoreceptors embedded in specific structures of the soft tissues.

#Nick fink wrists skin#

The hands and feet account for half of the complexity of the musculoskeletal system, while the skin of the hand is specialised with many important structures.