A ROBOT ARM WITH THE TENDER GRIP OF AN OCTOPUS
If you’ve ever experimented with a robot gripper, you’ll know that while it is easy to make an analogue of the human capability to grip between thumb as well as forefinger, it is very difficult to capture the nuances of grip with the benefit of touch feedback to supply only just enough of the force required to grip as well as hold an object. You as a human can pick up a delicate eggshell without breaking it using the same hand you might use to pick up a baseball or a cricket ball, however making your robot do the same thing is something of an engineering challenge.
The robot gripper is something that has exercised the minds of the folks at Festo, as well as the option they have arrived at is as gorgeous as it is novel. They have produced a gripper based upon the action of an octopus tentacle, though unlike the muscle of the real thing they’ve created a silicone tube which bends inwards when inflated. Its inner surface is covered with octopus-like suckers, some of which can be activated by a vacuum. The result is a very capable as well as versatile gripper which due to its soft building is optimal for use in environments in which robots as well as humans interact.
They’ve put up a slick video showing the gadget in action, which we’ve put below the break. tasks such as gripping a rolled-up magazine or a plastic bottle that would tax a lot more traditional grippers are done faultlessly.
We’ve shown you quite a few Festo projects before on these pages, they are as prolific as they are innovative. There was a novel drone/blimp hybrid, a veritable nest of robotic ants, as well as a robotic kangaroo, among lots of others.