New detachable robot hand mimics The Addams Family’s Thing

Scientists have unveiled an innovative development in creepy robotics: a detachable robot hand that also crawls. Coming just weeks after the debut of numerous unusual robots at CES, this impressive little bot immediately brings to mind “Thing,” the sentient, crawling hand from The Addams Family.

As detailed in a paper published in Nature Communications, the research team, led by first author Xiao Gao, demonstrated how the detachable robot hand separates from its arm. Videos accompanying the paper show the hand using its fingers to scuttle around, much like a spider.

Human biological constraints do not limit this detachable robot. While its six fingers resemble the five digits on our hands, everything else about this little creepy crawler differs significantly.

For example, the fingers flex backward as easily as they bend forward, allowing the robot to hold objects against both sides of its base (or palm, if you want to map it to human anatomy) simultaneously. It can even carry small objects on its back (or belly) while doing so, using its free fingers for movement.

These features offer the most value in industrial environments, though robots of this type could eventually enter private residences as well.