All robotic arm designs we've seen in the past have some limitation. Those that most closely imitate a human arm usually stand out, but this time, FlexShapeGripper from Festo leaves us speechless. Inspired by the tongue of a chameleon, its silicone tip can grasp just about anything, regardless of size and fragility.
The Challenge of Rigid Automation
Imagine any production line. Once movements are programmed and the dimensions of each part are determined, a robotic arm should have no trouble picking up components and placing them in the right spot at high speed. It is, in simple terms, a dance of robots with perfect coordination and synchronization. But problems arise when these robots need to adapt. In general, they can't, leading to specific replacements and higher costs. However, the people at Festo, a company we know well for its extraordinary robotic animals, have the answer: the FlexShapeGripper.
How the Chameleon Tongue Works
Let's start with the obvious: FlexShapeGripper is excellent. Once again, nature serves as the inspiration for this arm, more specifically, the tongue of a chameleon. FlexShapeGripper works thanks to a very flexible silicone tip made up of two chambers: an inner one with compressed air, and an outer one filled with water. When the silicone tip touches the object to be collected, the robotic arm activates a piston that removes the compressed air from the inner chamber, forcing the outer chamber to wrap around the object, creating a firmer yet gentle grip. Once the object is in its grasp, FlexShapeGripper needs no additional energy to hold it, and the natural friction of the silicone provides greater stability.
What It Can Grasp
Keys, glasses, coffee cups, polished metal balls, smartphones, cables, nuts, and even a peanut fall under the power of the FlexShapeGripper arm. It's not hard to imagine this arm in factories and laboratories, but if we know the people at Festo well, they'll likely be able to change its scale, adapting it to other environments. Unfortunately, its official page says nothing about the price...
