Published September 13, 2019 This content is archived.
A story in Futurity featured a robotic hand under development by Ehsan Esfahani, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. The gripper is able to adjust the stiffness of its grasp, which allows it to handle and manipulate a wide variety of objects.
This trait could also improve industrial safety, enabling the gripper to absorb energy from impacts during collisions. "These grippers are designed for collaborative robots that work together with people," says Esfahani, who has launched a startup to commercialize the gripper. "They’re going to be helpers, so they need to be safe, and variable stiffness grippers help to achieve that goal.”
The Engineer, Science Daily, TechXplore, Robotics Tomorrow also published stories on this research.