Even though modern industrial robots are becoming more nimble and capable, they still need to get a good grip on things, literally, with the equivalent of hands that are as agile and dexterous as the human variety.

How to tackle this thorny challenge, known in robotics speak as dexterous manipulation, was the aim of a recent workshop hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The workshop featured speakers from manufacturing companies (end users), along with developers of robot arms and advanced robot “hands.” Proceedings of the workshop, which NIST is using as it crafts a technology roadmap to guide measurement science research in the field, are summarized in a new report Dexterous Manipulation for Manufacturing Applications Workshop (Joseph Falco, Jeremy Marvel and Elena Messina, June 2013).

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