Forward-looking: When engineers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) set out to rethink the human hand, they removed one of its defining constraints: attachment. The result is ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Engineers in Switzerland recently created a detachable, spider ...

Human hands are a wonder of nature and unmatched in the animal kingdom. They can twist caps, flick switches, handle tiny objects with ease, and perform thousands of tasks every day. Robot hands ...

If The Addams Family was a science fiction show, “Thing” might look something like this. Researchers have developed a robotic hand that can not only skitter about on its fingertips, it can also bend ...

A hand crawling around, detached from an arm and seemingly with a life of its own. It might sound familiar to fans of The Addams Family or Wednesday, but this "Thing" isn't fantasy, it's a tech ...

What has opposable thumbs and is the most dexterous tool on the planet? The human hand, obviously. Well … not anymore. At least according to engineers at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne’s ...

A robotic hand can pick up 24 different objects with human-like movements that emerge spontaneously, thanks to compliant materials and structures rather than programming. When you reach out your hand ...

How does a robotic arm or a prosthetic hand learn a complex task like grasping and rotating a ball? Researchers address the classic 'nature versus nurture' question. The research demonstrates that the ...

Tyler is a writer for CNET covering laptops and video games. He's previously covered mobile devices, home energy products and broadband. He came to CNET straight out of college, where he graduated ...