After reflecting on his travels across the U.S. and the problem of food insecurity, columnist Oliver Mitchell talks to a roboticist automating mushroom harvesting, demonstrating robotics’ potential in agriculture.
Toyota Research Institute shows service robot prototypes in virtual open house
Toyota Research Institute demonstrated its research into machine learning, simulation, and manipulation in a virtual open house, which included a ceiling-mounted kitchen gantry robot.
Soft Bubble Gripper a step toward domestic robots, says Toyota Research Institute
The Soft Bubble Gripper developed by a Toyota Research Institute team combines sensors and advanced materials to more safely handle objects in a step toward household robots.
The Gripper Company opens online store with configurable soft gripper
The Gripper Company opened its online shop for business with its first offering — a configurable soft gripper to meet demand for handling diverse objects while trying to keep costs down.
Root AI raises seed funding for Virgo robot, designed to harvest multiple crops
Root AI, which has been developing the Virgo robot to be able to pick multiple types of crops with AI and compliant fingers, plans to expand in North America and Europe.
Michigan State finds that stronger soft gripper could lead to safer human-robot interactions
A team of Michigan State University researchers has built flexible hybrid pneumatic actuator, which could enable safer human-machine interaction with safer robot end effectors.
MIT creates tactile-reactive robot gripper that manipulates cables
MIT CSAIL created a system that uses two robotic gripper with soft sensitive fingers to handle cables with unprecedented dexterity.
RIOS raises funding, emerges from stealth with AI driven dexterous robots
RIOS has raised $5 million as it emerges from stealth and offers its DX-1 multipurpose robot for complex component assembly and other tasks.
OnRobot Screwdriver launches for collaborative robots
OnRobot is looking to help manufacturers automate a variety of screwdriving processes. The RBR50 company introduced its OnRobot Screwdriver end-of-arm tool that handles a variety of screws.
MIT gives soft robotic gripper better sense of touch and perception
MIT researchers built a soft robotic gripper that uses embedded cameras and deep learning to enable tactile sensing and awareness of its positions and movements.
ZAGO Manufacturing increases capacity with automated night shifts
ZAGO Manufacturing faced an increase in demand, but had a limited workforce. It turned to Robotiq and Universal Robots for a robust automated solution.
OnRobot Soft Gripper is designed for picking challenges, food handling
The new OnRobot Soft Gripper is designed to work without an external air supply. The end effector comes in three configurations, is FDA-certified, and works with the One System Solution.
Machine learning helps researchers build low-cost tactile sensor
We humans have no problem picking up fragile or slippery objects with our hands. Our sense of touch lets us feel whether we have a firm grasp on the object or if it’s about to slip through our fingers, so we can adjust the strength of our grip accordingly. Robot grippers tasked with picking up…
Tactile robot finger at Columbia Engineering is the first without blind spots
Researchers at Columbia University claimed to be the first to develop and demonstrate a robot finger with a highly precise sense of touch over a complex, multicurved surface.
End-of-arm tooling options for cobots to grow in 2020
New end-of-arm tooling options, wider interoperability, and improved safety features are enabling enable collaborative robot users to apply automation to more tasks across industries.
OnRobot 3-finger gripper designed for heavy machine tending
OnRobot has been upfront about its aggressive plan to expand its product portfolio. It appears the Danish company is sticking to its word as it just released its second new product in about one week. The new OnRobot 3FG15 three-finger gripper features a 150mm stroke and 15 kg (33 lb) payload. It offers a gripping…
Robotic piece picking gets more flexible with AI-enabled adaptive tooling
Robotic piece picking requires the right end effectors for the items being picked, properly trained machine vision, and interfaces with other systems, notes XYZ Robotics CTO Peter Yu.
New Gecko SP robotic gripper built for finer industrial applications
The new Gecko SP gripper from OnRobot applies the award-winning technology to smaller objects such as printed circuit boards.
The Robot Report February 2020 issue on end-of-arm tooling
This month’s special issue of The Robot Report examines developments and trends in end-of-arm tooling.
Tactile Telerobot brings human-like dexterity to robots
I met Jeremy Fishel, founder of Tangible Research, at CES 2020. Tangible Research is one of three institutions involved in developing a haptic-controlled, humanoid gripping system called the Tactile Telerobot. Interviewing him in his packed booth on the floor of Eureka Park, he introduced me to his colleagues from the Shadow Robot Company, SynTouch and HaptX.…
Acoustic gripper lets robots manipulate objects without touching them
The small installation that Marcel Schuck has assembled on his workbench is reminiscent of a school physics lesson: an arrangement, comprising two semi-spheres and resembling a pair of headphones, is connected to a circuit board carrying microchips. He is using the assembly to demonstrate a physical effect. A small sphere hovers between the two semi-spheres,…
Sea anemone inspires robotic grippers in Chinese research
Chinese researchers recently demonstrated a robotic gripper mechanism that mimics how a sea anemone catches its prey. The bionic torus captures and releases objects by crimping its skin.