Universal robot gripper, USA

This video accompanies our recent PNAS cover article. Shown is our universal robotic gripper performing a variety of gripping tasks.

This research is a collaboration between our lab at Cornell, the lab of Heinrich Jaeger at the University of Chicago, and iRobot.

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This video is an introduction to our Universal Jamming Gripper, which is featured on the cover of the November 2, 2010 edition of PNAS.

This research is a collaboration between our lab at Cornell, the lab of Heinrich Jaeger at the University of Chicago, and iRobot.

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Researchers at Cornell University and the University of Chicago have expanded the capabilities of their robot gripper invention.

The jamming gripper is essentially a latex balloon filled with granular material such as coffee grounds. Fill the balloon with air and the grounds conform to the shape of any object at hand. Pump air out of the balloon and the grounds jam into solid mass, enabling the gripper to hold tight to its object. Previously, the gripper could pick up a variety of multi-sized objects, pour a glass of water or write with a pen. Now, with the rapid re-inflation of the balloon, the gripper also can shoot miniature hoops, throw darts and go bowling.

UChicago physicists led by Heinrich Jaeger developed the concept of a conforming gripper based on the jamming and unjamming of granular material, while Cornell engineers led Hod Lipson invented the new functionalities and built the gripper prototypes.

(Video credit: John Amend and Hod Lipson, Cornell University)

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In this project we show you how to make a universal robot gripper using an ordinary balloon and coffee grounds. Coffee grounds are placed in the balloon. When the balloon is inflated, the coffee grounds are loose and will easily move around an object. But when the air is sucked out of the balloon, the grounds are pulled together and grip the object from all sides. This works because of a process called "jamming": When a granular material such as coffee grounds is compressed, the friction between the grains locks them in place.

This kind of amorphous gripper is able to manipulate a wide variety of objects because the gripper changes its shape to fit the object that you want to pick up. The "universal gripper" design was developed by researchers at Cornell University and the University of Chicago. This project teaches you how to make a simple DIY version of their design.

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