Robotic glove technology developed out of a partnership between General Motors (GM) and NASA for use on the International Space Station could find new life on Earth in healthcare, manufacturing and industrial applications through a licensing agreement between GM and Bioservo Technologies AB, a Swedish medical technology company.

Working with GM, Bioservo will combine technology from its Soft Extra Muscle Glove with the RoboGlove, a battery-powered, force-multiplying wearable developed by GM and NASA during a nine-year collaboration that included the launch of the humanoid robot called Robonaut 2 (R2) into space in 2011.

RoboGlove is a battery-powered, force-multiplying wearable developed by GM and NASA. Image credit: General Motors.The RoboGlove uses sensors, actuators and tendons that are comparable to the nerves, muscles and tendons in a human hand to allow the wearer to hold a grip longer and more comfortably. One design requirement for R2 was to operate tools designed for humans. The RoboGlove gave the R2 robot the hand dexterity required to do that.

Bioservo plans to make and sell the new glove for a variety of uses, including medical rehabilitation and other applications in which additional gripping strength is needed. The company will initially develop a new grasp-assist device for industrial use that could increase human operator efficiency while reducing fatigue in hand muscles.

“Combining the best of three worlds—space technology from NASA, engineering from GM and medtech from Bioservo—in a new industrial glove could lead to industrial-scale use of the technology,” says Tomas Ward, CEO of Bioservo Technologies. He adds that the technology combination is a major step toward introducing soft exoskeletons globally.

GM says it intends to be the first U.S. manufacturing customer for the refined robotic glove and will test it in some of its plants. The company says that it briefly tested RoboGlove in a preproduction plant before looking for a partner to help refine it to fit different-sized hands and address other issues.