Did you know the first bionic hand was created at the Mihajlo Pupin Institute in Belgrade?
Back in 1963, engineers at our Institute developed the first bionic hand designed for medical use as a prosthetic replacement. This groundbreaking invention was the work of Prof. Rajko Tomović, who was part of the Institute before becoming a professor at the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Electrical Engineering, and Prof. Miodrag Rakić.
Although originally intended as a prosthesis, the Belgrade Hand became globally recognized as the first artificial hand capable of replicating human-like manipulative movements in robotics. It operates with a single electromotor powered externally, while finger movements are controlled through a sensor feedback system, and myoelectric signals are detected from a healthy part of the user’s arm.
To learn more about the origins of humanoid robotics, Prof. Dr. Aleksandar Rodić, a scientific advisor at the Mihajlo Pupin Institute, recently shared insights on Euronews Serbia, covering the Zero Moment Point theory developed by Prof. Vukobratović and other pioneering achievements of our researchers. One of the original Belgrade Hands is on display at the Museum of Science and Technology in Belgrade, while others can be found in collections around the world.