Engineers from Ajou University in South Korea have developed a highly dexterous robotic hand capable of a range of functions from gently handling an egg to aggressively crushing a beer can.

Dubbed ILDA (integrated linkage-driven dexterous anthropomorphic), the robotic hand features 20 joints that enable 15° of freedom and fingertips capable of exerting 7.6 lbs of force.

Source: Nature Communications

During testing, the robotic hand could also press buttons, use tweezers to handle small objects, squeeze soccer balls and cut sheets of paper using scissors.

ILDA, which is 8.6 inches long and weighs 2.43 lbs, can reportedly be attached to most commercial robotic arms and its developers envision the robotic hand being used as a component in future industrial robots or as a prosthetic hand.

An article, Integrated linkage-driven dexterous anthropomorphic robotic hand, appears in the journal Nature Communications.

For more information on ILDA, watch the accompanying video that appears courtesy of Nature Communications.