ACM TechNews

Robot Jaws to Get a Human Bite

New Scientist (01/03/08) Simonite, Tom

An engineer at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom has set his sights on providing a set of robotic jaws with copies of real human teeth. The robot, called Dento-Munch, is capable of moving in the same chewing motion as the human jaw. By loading Dento-Munch with accurate replicas of human teeth, Kazem Alemzadeh will be able to test the performance of implants and false teeth during use. Alemzadeh plans to use a 3D scanning system comprised of an office projector, a digital camera, and custom software to image copies of teeth that will be used to machine the replicas. The Dento-OS system will make use of structured lights, and is ultimately a faster, more accurate, and less costly technique. Fluorescent spots will be used to enable the camera to pick up jaw movements. "It has got to be as real as possible," Alemzadeh says. "We also will capture the motion of chewing to test how materials would wear in the mouths of individual people."

http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/
robots/dn13133-robot-jaws-to-get-a-human-bite.html

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