AI-powered robotic hands learn dexterity by mimicking human movements and anatomy

AI-powered robotic hands learn dexterity by mimicking human movements and anatomy

Step inside the Soft Robotics Lab at ETH Zurich, and you find yourself in a space that is part children's nursery, part high-tech workshop and part cabinet of curiosities. The lab benches are strewn with foam blocks, stuffed animals—including a cuddly squid—and other colorful toys used to train robotic dexterity. Piled up on every surface are sensors, cables and measurement devices. Skeletal fingers, on show in display cases or attached to power…