Universal Gripper Robot

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If you haven’t seen this damn thing yet, you really need to check it out. “It” is a robotic arm, developed by Cornell and the University of Chicago, that can pick up just about anything. Thanks to IndyJoe for the linkage.
 
When that thing started writing, I was legitimately hoping that the first 3 pen strokes were the left bracket of [H]
 
If this can be used by people who have lost their hand(s) then it's a pretty significant achievement (except for the lack of manual capabilities).
 
Negative Decibel said:
i thought the same thing. I was not really impressed. and what's up with the egg dropping and breaking??
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that was the point. it was to show it was a raw egg (more fragile when pushed) then a hard-boiled one (easier to apply pressure and not break).
 
I forgot to say something. While the bionic arms I've seen so far aren't quite as versatile yet, it's only a matter of time before they're practical. Plus they don't require such a loud air compressor.
 
So what exactly is the "ball" at the end of the arm? Is it filled with a type of fluid that expands when given an electrical current and then up expands when current is turned off?
 
colinstu said:
that was the point. it was to show it was a raw egg (more fragile when pushed) then a hard-boiled one (easier to apply pressure and not break).
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ahh. ok. you mean that there is not some sort of technology that can pick up and move a raw egg? This will be revolutionary in the egg farming business, where they put eggs in cartons by hand!! lol:rolleyes:

anyway, still anticlimactic.
 
King Icewind said:
So what exactly is the "ball" at the end of the arm? Is it filled with a type of fluid that expands when given an electrical current and then up expands when current is turned off?
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I think it had some sort of vacuum that sucked the air out. Kind of looked like one of those stress balls.
 
It's basically a pick and place robot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_robot It's using vacuum to pick up objects, which I've worked with plenty of times in the past. The interesting bit for me is the attachment on the end allowing it to pick up various shapes without switching tooling. Usually vacuum-based pick and placers have suction cups on the ends of the vacuum lines to pick things up.

The only thing I'd wonder is how accurate it is at picking up objects. The equipment I've worked with had vision systems to verify that the robots placed the objects within tolerances of a virtual "box."
 
Not even remotely impressive. A vacuum picking up objects...wow :rolleyes:
 
I think the point is not that it is a vacuum picking something up, rather that it is very versatile in picking up many irregular surfaced objects.
 
synapsis said:
It's basically a pick and place robot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_robot It's using vacuum to pick up objects, which I've worked with plenty of times in the past. The interesting bit for me is the attachment on the end allowing it to pick up various shapes without switching tooling. Usually vacuum-based pick and placers have suction cups on the ends of the vacuum lines to pick things up.

The only thing I'd wonder is how accurate it is at picking up objects. The equipment I've worked with had vision systems to verify that the robots placed the objects within tolerances of a virtual "box."
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It uses vacuum but it does not work the same way a vacuum gripper works. It's friction that holds the items, not suction. The vacuum causes the elastic ball to hold it's shape after it's formed around what it's picking up.

http://singularityhub.com/2010/10/27/irobots-universal-gripper-pours-a-drink-and-draws-shapes-video/
 
I'm highly impressed to be honest.

Assuming this is an early design, its not like it won't be improved on.

That said, to me it looks like a gel ball filled with something that locks its current shape whenever that compressor sound starts.
 
Brak710 said:
I'm highly impressed to be honest.

Assuming this is an early design, its not like it won't be improved on.

That said, to me it looks like a gel ball filled with something that locks its current shape whenever that compressor sound starts.
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so, replace the ball with a hand shaped bag and it starts looking more human like.
 
RevMen said:
It uses vacuum but it does not work the same way a vacuum gripper works. It's friction that holds the items, not suction. The vacuum causes the elastic ball to hold it's shape after it's formed around what it's picking up.

http://singularityhub.com/2010/10/27/irobots-universal-gripper-pours-a-drink-and-draws-shapes-video/
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Might be a non-Newtonian fluid in the ball that stiffens when subjected to a change in pressure

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Newtonian_fluid
 
phoffman said:
Might be a non-Newtonian fluid in the ball that stiffens when subjected to a change in pressure

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Newtonian_fluid
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I believe its not a liquid, but a granular material or type of "sand" that conforms to the shape of whatever it's put on top of, then when the vacuum is applied it "hardens" or is compressed around the object and friction from the surface of the "ball" allows the object to be picked up.

While it may not look very impressive, it has a lot of potential in manufacturing and packaging applications. As someone said above, right now you need a different end tool for every type of item you need to pick up. This could streamline things considerably by eliminating all the various "hands" and only needing a few different sizes of the same end tool for all applications.
 
Coffee. That's awesome. I assume they'll have to replace that with something that won't "grind" itself finer with each vacuum cycle.

If this came out two months ago I could've gone downstairs at work and tried it. But now I work with databases and websites. :(
 
synapsis said:
Coffee. That's awesome. I assume they'll have to replace that with something that won't "grind" itself finer with each vacuum cycle.

If this came out two months ago I could've gone downstairs at work and tried it. But now I work with databases and websites. :(
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No way, the system has a 2-fold operation. The first, most obvious, is to pick stuff up. The second, is that once all the coffee has been ground up inside and requires changing, the operator has something to keep him awake in the interim.
 
I think it definitely has some usefulness because of it's flexibility. It could definitely be used on a line that has to handle many different shapes, additionally something tells me this is cheaper to make and maintain than a full robotic hand.
 
RevMen said:
It's a pliable rubber ball that oozes around an object and then gets hard when you flip a switch.
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But from the sounds in the video, it sounds like it's sucking to hold the object too.
 
The pin would have burst the balloon.

I enjoyed watching the Physics of perfection, as it poured the water.
 
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