A Robot With Coffee-Filled Balloons for Hands Is the Best Grabber Yet

Surprisingly, the gripper is dexterous without having a claw or several fingers to clamp securely to objects. The “robotic mitt” forms to the shape of the object by using a sack of coffee grounds. How does this work?

DARPA funded, researchers at Cornell University, the University of Chicago, and iRobot developed this gripping device—Kinetic Object grippiNg Arm (KONA). Also referred to as the “universal gripper”, it takes advantage of jamming transition. Jamming transition occurs when particles are densely packed to the point where the particles can no longer slide past each other much like a solid when the air has been removed. Initially the coffee grounds slide passed each other much like a liquid, thus allowing the balloon to form around an object. Once the object has been surrounded, a vacuum (attached to the robotic arm) sucks the air out of the balloon, thus solidifying it with a firm grip around the object. Both the shape and pressure have to be just right. When the hand wants to release the object, say a glass of water, the vacuum releases air back into the balloon allowing the pressure around the object to decrease.

This is a tremendous success because hands have to both solid and sensitive. Hands have to be able to hold an egg and to hoist a heavy object. Instead of the typical hand, the researchers opted for a balloon. Hod Lipson says, the gripper is so simple that it could go to market tomorrow.

After hearing the student lecture presentation covering prosthetic limbs the Kinetic Object grippiNg Arm interests me because this grabber discovery could possibly improve prosthetic limbs. Furthermore, this new robot hand could allow a robot to dismantle explosives, thus decreasing direct human involvement and danger. The overall result of improving human lives grabs my attention to this coffee-filled balloon grabber invention.

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-10/coffee-filled-balloon-makes-best-robotic-gripper

Rebecca Boyle – October 26, 2010

Leanne Kristek, VTPP 434-501