Fingers

A few years ago a designer named Dani Clode introduced the world to the Third Thumb, a robotic finger controlled using pressure sensors under one’s feet. Now neuroscientists are using the device to investigate how our brain's adapt to extra limbs.

Currently, if you want a VR setup to "know" what your individual fingers are doing, you either have to wear special gloves or place your hands directly in front of a camera. A new system, however, keeps tabs on the fingers via a simple wristband.

It sometimes seems that as soon as another form of biometric ID authentication is developed, someone devises a way of fooling it. According to its creators, however, a new 3D finger vein-scanning system cannot be duped.

Capturing the complexities of the human hand is very tricky. Now engineers have developed a new wearable system that uses thermal sensors to accurately predict hand positions, with potential applications in VR, robotics and translating sign language.

Although there are already complex prototype interfaces that track all of the fingers on a computer-user's hand, let's be honest – it's mostly just the index finger that matters. That's where the experimental AuraRing system is designed to come in.

​Because it doesn't show up in either blood tests or brain scans, Parkinson's disease can be frustratingly difficult to diagnose. A new device could help, however, by repeatedly bending the patient's finger. It may make diagnoses easier, and allow treatment to start earlier.

Currently, the most accurate method of checking for anemia is to draw a blood sample and conduct a count of a patient's red blood cells, which contain iron-rich hemoglobin. Soon, however, a smartphone app may be able to non-invasively do the same job.

What happens when you're immersed in a virtual world – such as a game – and you want to use your real-world fingers to control your virtual fingers in that world? Well, China's Dexta Robotics has created an exoskeleton for your hand, which can even provide the user with a sense of touch.

Researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) have designed an implant consisting of a simple pulley system that would more effectively transfer mechanical forces and allow more natural grasping function with less effort for those suffering reduced hand function.

MIT's "supernumerary robotic fingers" extend from either side of the user's dominant hand, and are attached to a device that's worn around the wrist. The idea behind them is that (among other things) they could allow users to perform tasks that usually require two hands, using only one.

The Titanium Utility Ring incorporates five tiny folding tools.

In an effort to enable blind people to navigate their surroundings more safely and effectively, researchers have turned to rat whiskers.