Research on robots that can be used for communication with humans has become popular in recent years. Communication robots should ideally be as small as an infant in order to reduce the user’s feeling of threat. In addition, non-verbal communication (such as gestures) is also important in facilitating smooth interactions between humans and robots. There are currently a few communication robots that are small sized and can generate hand gestures. In this paper, we propose a small robot hand, which is optimized for gesture communication by using a shape memory alloy (SMA). The SMA employed is a Ti–Ni alloy, which is used as an actuator. The SMA shrinks when it transforms into the austenite phase at temperatures higher than the transformation temperature. When it is in the martensitic phase at a lower temperature, it is expanded by an external force. Each finger of the robot hand is driven by an individual SMA wire. The specifications of the small robot including the hand size, operation angles in each finger joint, response times and power consumption were determined according to the human finger and existing small communication robots. These required specifications have been fulfilled by carefully designing the geometry and heating/cooling power control. A questionnaire-based survey was also conducted with a robot hand. The five-finger hand was successfully shown to generate recognizable symbolic gestures.

近年来，关于可用于与人类交流的机器人的研究变得流行起来。理想情况下，通信机器人应该像婴儿一样小，以减少用户的威胁感。此外，非语言交流（如手势）对于促进人与机器人之间的顺畅交互也很重要。目前有一些通信机器人体积小，可以产生手势。在本文中，我们提出了一种小型机械手，该机械手通过使用形状记忆合金 (SMA) 对手势通信进行了优化。采用的 SMA 是一种 Ti-Ni 合金，用作致动器。SMA 在高于转变温度的温度下转变为奥氏体相时会收缩。当它在较低温度下处于马氏体相时，它会在外力作用下膨胀。机器人手的每个手指都由一根单独的 SMA 线驱动。小型机器人的规格包括手的大小、每个手指关节的操作角度、响应时间和功耗是根据人类手指和现有小型通信机器人确定的。通过仔细设计几何形状和加热/冷却功率控制，这些要求的规格已得到满足。还使用机器人手进行了基于问卷的调查。五指手被成功地证明可以产生可识别的象征性手势。响应时间和功耗是根据人的手指和现有的小型通信机器人确定的。通过仔细设计几何形状和加热/冷却功率控制，这些要求的规格已得到满足。还使用机器人手进行了基于问卷的调查。五指手被成功地证明可以产生可识别的象征性手势。响应时间和功耗是根据人的手指和现有的小型通信机器人确定的。通过仔细设计几何形状和加热/冷却功率控制，这些要求的规格已得到满足。还使用机器人手进行了基于问卷的调查。五指手被成功地证明可以产生可识别的象征性手势。