New Elephant Robotic Gripper Design Lifts Various Objects With Ease

Scientists created a robot gripper modeled after an elephant trunk. Many grippers cannot detect how delicate or stiff they should be when picking up an item. This gripper brings the unique talents of elephants into the world of robotics and automation.

The gripper has a thermally activated device that changes the gripper's material from flexible to rigid and vice versa. This enables it to grasp various shapes and weights up to 220 times heavier than the gripper's mass. It also has a force sensor to implement the precise amount of pressure to an object. 

"Our new soft fabric gripper is thin, flat, lightweight and grips and retrieves various objects – even from confined hollow spaces – for example, a pen inside a tube," said medical robotics expert Thanh Nho Do.

 This gripper design influenced by nature brings a more advanced approach to how robotic arms can perform intricate tasks for automated operations. 
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​Source: Link