Robotic hands are an important tool for replacing humans in handling toxic or radioactive materials. However, these are usually highly expensive, and in many cases, once they are contaminated, they cannot be re-used. Some solutions cope with this challenge by 3D printing parts of a tendon-based hand. However, fabrication requires additional assembly steps. Therefore, a novice user may have difficulties fabricating a hand upon contamination of the previous one.

UNMET NEED
Robotic hands are an important tool for replacing humans in handling toxic or radioactive materials. However, these are usually highly expensive, and in many cases, once they are contaminated, they cannot be re-used. Some solutions cope with this challenge by 3D printing parts of a tendon-based hand. However, fabrication requires additional assembly steps. Therefore, a novice user may have difficulties fabricating a hand upon contamination of the previous one.

OUR SOLUTION
We propose a novel robotic hand termed Print-n-Grip (PNG. The PNG hand is fabricated through one-shot 3D printing and, therefore, accessible and low-cost. The design of a finger includes built-in tendons removing the need for tedious string threading. Once printed, the hand can easily and rapidly be mounted on a universal base.
Since it is easily fabricated, different 3D printed configurations of a PNG hand can be mounted on the same universal base. A hand can be 3D printed with two or more fingers based on desired tasks or objects to grasp. Furthermore, the hand is scalable such that a practitioner can 3D print small or large PNG hands simply by determining a scaling factor depending on the task or objects to be grasped.
The proposed PNG hand enables a low-cost and disposable solution for chemical and medical applications. Once contaminated, the hand can be disposed and easily replaced by 3D printing a new one. Alternatively, since no electric or metal components are in the hand, it can be cleaned or sterilized for re-use. temperatures.

APPLICATIONS
• Grasping a rigid objects
• Handling chemical (e.g., pesticides, acids and radioactive materials) and biohazard (e.g., viruses and microbes from medical procedures)

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Patent pending, PCT stage.