I worked recently on the new InMoov hand (InMoov2 hand). I had stopped a few months ago because my wire connections had something wrong and I had burned the Arduino Nano and one of the motor driver board. Being very buzy in all directions, kinect, legs,Nervo boards, Makerfaires, I got driven away from it until 3 days ago.
Thanks to Leon and Marten which gave me a set of new Arduino Nano, I could start to work again. ( To remind who are Leon and Marten: they are getting the Nervo boards ready and they came to the Makerfaire Paris and Roma)
So getting back on it, I discovered what I done wrong and finally got the index and thumb working. The script I use gives very simple keyboard fonctions for now , although it took me a very long time to adapt it to my needs., but it is mostly a proof of concept. I’m still stucked though with the thumb actuation. For some reason (unknown) it extends but doesn’t retract. I wonder if the driver I’m using got burned somehow during my previous attempts or if it is a script problem.
Since I gave the InMoov2 hand to Nicolas Huchet last August, I need to get new drivers and new motors to complete my tests. At one point I tested also with extracted servo XT900 boards to replace the drivers but the power needed by the Pololu motors just blew them off at the first torque force given to the finger. Therefor only the index and the thumb rotation are working. Anyway it is a big step, because the Arduino, the motors and the drivers are set and wired within the hand.
The speed is very good and the accuracy of motion is great, the torque is much better than with tendons. The last phalange actuation still remains something to work on, maybe with a retraction spring. It somehow doesn’t extend to it’s full potential. Is it due to the resolution of my printed parts? I think if I get the parts professionaly printed, it should be much better.
Next, I will replace the Nano by a Bluno board to be able to use the hand with a Myo armband through Bluetooth.
Some pics and a short video.
