Getting a Grip: Building the Ultimate Robotic Hand

A 6-foot-tall, one-armed robot named Stair 1.0 balances on a modified Segway platform in the doorway of a Stanford University conference room. It has an arm, cameras and laser scanners for eyes, and a tangle of electrical intestines stuffed into its base. From his seat at a polished table, roboticist Morgan Quigley sends the bot on a mission. "Stair, please fetch the stapler from the lab." After the third attempt, Stair responds in an inflectionless voice: "I will go fetch the stapler for you."