Whatever A Phobia Of Fingers Is Called, This Is It.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LSXvhLKjCU&w=470]

Touched is a project by [Rebecca Strauss] that integrates servos, strings, and felt into a horrifying kinetic sculpture made up of a dozen mechanical fingers straight from a Boschian nightmare.

The fingers are made up of segments of wood articulated with the help of a small string. Each pair of fingers is controlled by a single servo, and the tips of each pair of fingers is controlled by a second servo.

After covering them in felt, [Rebecca] wrapped conductive thread around each of the fingers. When some of the fingers are touched, they all recoil as if controlled by a demon living just under a mountain of felt.

[Rebecca] brought in another kinetic sculpture using her servo controlled fingers; in the video up at the top and after the break, you can see the inner workings of this floor-mounted version. When the IR proximity sensor goes off, the fingers recoil but can be coaxed out again by gently stroking one of the phalanges.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LSXvhLKjCU&w=470]

96 thoughts on “Whatever A Phobia Of Fingers Is Called, This Is It.

  1. I think I get it… Read the HAD article again and replace “Fingers” with “Dicks”… I was expecting a wall that has tons of small 5 inch fingers (ala’ massage chair). Then you watch the clip, and, well, I mean COME ON !! They have a head on the end of the shaft, the conductive thread wrapped around them looks like veins !

    And they got the moves like Mick Jagger!

  2. my English isn’t good enough to understand all she said but it’s a bit hard to me to imagine a practical use. (practical = in a non pervert sense).

    same thing I said about genetic programming some 12/14 years ago and now its used on almost everything.

  3. “I’ve never seen Hackaday”

    Judging for the comment section on her own project, I guess she’ll never see it anymore either. Oh well, I hope she has a sense of humor. :)

    On a sidenote, aren’t crafty nerdy girls who like electronics soooooo cute?

  4. um…(5 minutes later)…im lost for words. Had to watch it a couple times.

    “it’s very disturbing in real life”…”It’s my baby”

    It’s like that episode of “everyone loves raymond” where his mom makes a vagina sculpture and gives it to ray and she doesn’t see it that way until the nuns come to pick it up for charity.

    At least she picked grey for the color at the end. I mean black all the way or a pink tip would really be bad.

    I know i’ve seen this in a pr0n video before “Tentacle Ecstasy” maybe?

    It really is neat but…maybe a good prop for a movie…doesn’t have to be pr0n. Maybe B grade sci-fi movie or something. For an interactive display…im not stroking that thing to make it stand up.

  5. you know, it kind of resembles a creature from like a coral reef or something that retracts when it gets touched, she could of had that in mind when she created this; either that or she is the godess of trolling loll…

  6. Hi! I’m the maker of this creation. I just want to confirm that yes, I am fully aware of the dick joke potential of the piece as well as the interview. However, there’s much more to it than that. Research was based in developmental psycology, abnormal touch behavior, the work of Temple Grandin, and autism. If the measure of a piece of art is to provoke a response from the viewers, I feel I have succeeded.

    1. Thanks for chiming in! I thought it was fantastic and frankly I’m a bit surprised our commenters were so stuck on that angle. Frankly I expected a slightly more mature response from them. Sure, someone was going to say something, but this is quantity is just silly.

  7. Well, though I don’t know if she’ll follow up on this article and comment, believe me when I say that as her older brother she has long ago been made aware of the implications of her design. Still you have to admit it is damn impressive considering her background is art and not engineering. Also and I’m a bit surprised no one else made the connection but her inspiration was sea anemone if I am not mistaken. Sigh, my sister and her fuzzy tentacles…

    1. I’m pretty sure that plenty of people made the connection to anemones, or to other creatures with tentacles.
      Fact is that this was just too good opportunity to have some childish fun. I believe that no harm was intended by commenters.

  8. I think it is sooooo cooooool that girls can be techies too. And I don’t think she is a nerd for doing something like this. In fact, I am very impressed when girls go into the technology field.

    To all of the nasty remarks. May I give you a quote from Gomer Pile, “Shame, shame, shame, shame, shame on you.”

    I am single and would be honored to find someone like her who also has other talents(violin,cello,piano,sings). I am an incurable inventor and need someone who understands the “Had Scientist” that lerks inside us. Someone who not only understands, but is able to contribute her knowledge/skills/abilities to “my(our) projects”.

    Well I guess I wouldn’t mind holding hands with my lab partner “if I HaD too”. Hahaha “nerd joke”.

    To all of the female contributors at HaD. I am honored you are here. Don’t let the negative/shameful comments deter you from what you desire to be in life!

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