Robot finger can really feel for nasty lumps and even be inserted into darkish heat locations

Bet you never thought you’d have a robot finger up your bum… or perhaps you have… well, most people will be aghast to learn that the probing ‘robodoctor’ may be just around the corner.

Boffins from the Department of Precision Machinery and Precision Instrumentation at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) are behind this game-changer, having cooked up a robotic ‘finger’ that can rival your doctor’s own digits.

According to a report by Newatlas.com, this clever bit of tech is all set to take over routine medical check-ups just like a real physician.

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It seems doctors might want to keep an eye on their jobs as their trusty fingers used for checking pulses and rooting out mysterious lumps beneath the skin could be swapped for a piece of bendy bot-tech that’s not shy about getting into some “dark, warm places” for the sake of your health.

Extremely “sensitive”, the robotic “finger” is being bigged up for its human-like touch during these important exams. Scientists at USTC also reckon this gadget could be jetting off beyond our atmosphere, building homes in the stark vastness of space, reports Mirror US.

“Physical examination is one of the most widely available, effective, and safe approaches for detecting early findings of lumps and other signs of breast cancer,” said the researchers.

The brainboxes behind the BSF, short for bio-inspired soft finger, reckon it could level up what we’ve got going and be a top pick for patients who aren’t too keen on the idea of dealing with real-life medics.

The researchers added: “On the one hand, due to the lack of trained, experienced physicians, some diseases or potential risks might not be identified in time to prevent aggravation. On the other hand, a large percentage of individuals are unwilling to undergo physical examination, particularly those who are being examined by a doctor of the opposite gender. Thus, robotic palpation has attracted intense attention in the research community.”

Scientists have accepted there’s still a long road ahead before this tech can go toe-to-toe with the deft touch of a human doctor, but the reality is that this robot finger’s ability to fish for bodily faults is nothing short of astounding.

“The proposed BSF has a simple design and requires only measuring the resistance and inductance at two terminals to achieve human-like touch perception,” the boffins added. “Like our human finger, the BSF can perceive rich information on the physical properties of objects via active touch.”

In daring trials, the “robofinger” managed to pinpoint an artery with precision on a live human wrist, clocking their heartbeat without breaking a sweat.

The research team announced breakthrough developments, explaining: “We demonstrated that the BSF can press and ‘feel’ the stiffness of an object and perform safe and accurate robotic palpation similar to that performed by a doctor.

“Moreover, the BSF mounted on a [six-degrees-of-freedom] robotic arm can locate the artery at a participant’s wrist and take [pulses] for real-time analysis. These findings highlight the potential of a ‘robodoctor’ to perform physical examinations in the future.”

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