Researchers at Cornell University, the University of Chicago and iRobot came up with an ideal robotic gripping device, a latex party balloon filled with ground coffee. They call it the Kinetic Object grippiNg Arm.
It takes advantage of a physical phenomenon called jamming transition. When particles (like coffee grounds) are so densely packed that they can no longer slide past each other, they behave like a solid. When they’re loosely packed, they behave like a liquid.
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1 comment(s):
It's remarkably versatile, but I don't think much of its penmanship. I was wondering how it was going to pick up the mug.
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