Cardboard robotic hand. Its utility is up to you. © Victor Didelot
Who hasn’t dreamed of having a cyborg-like augmented arm or hand? This tutorial shows you how to do it yourself. But not just any cyborg… a cardboard cyborg that won’t cost you an arm and a hand.
The age of cardboard DIY is in full bloom on social media. While most of these DIY projects are not very useful in everyday life, they require no knowledge of electronics or mechanics, and cost next to nothing thanks to the main ingredient: cardboard.
From coin sorter to hydraulic-powered robot arm and summer lounge chairs, there’s plenty to keep busy. We chose one of the simplest, and cheapest, ones: the robotic arm, which should take less than an hour and a half.
Materials
– cardboard;
– gaffer tape or strong glue;
– drinking straws;
– string;
– scissors or cutter.
Assembly
1) Draw the shape of your robotic hand on the cardboard. You can simply trace your own hand or add a few fantasy touches with a bigger, “more robotic” hand. Below the wrist, continue to cut out a forearm, which will attach to your own, like a shield.
2) Mark the joints of the fingers on the cardboard (2 joints for the thumb, 3 for the other fingers). You can use a ruler to fold the joints more easily. Make a hole at the base of the thumb as shown below.
3) Cut the straws into 20 1cm-long pieces and 5 longer pieces of about 3-4 cm. Glue them onto the cardboard hand as shown below. Make a hole at the tip of each finger. Thread a piece of string through each fingertip, tying a knot on the back to keep it from slipping through.
4) Thread a piece of string through the straw pieces on each finger and make a loop for your fingers at the bottom.
You have now completed your cardboard cyborg-augmented hand! It may not be very useful, other than to grab those just-out-of-reach Easter eggs, but at least it helps to understand how real robot hands work. Your turn to improve and customize it to your liking, as the mechanism remains the same.
Our tutorial is a mix inspired by Kto6Science on Instructables and Yuri Ostr on Youtube