OctopusGribber
Biomimicry in Robots Speeds Up Replacing Humans In Jobs - And Creates New Opportunities
FUTURE PROOF – BLOG BY FUTURES PLATFORM
Festo presents OctopusGribber, a robotic “hand” which mimics the multi-suction cup tentacle of the octopus. It can wrap softly yet firmly around objects that may be fragile or slippery. How Industrial robots grab objects with “pliers” or single suction cups has prevented them from replacing human hands in some tasks on production lines. Biomimicry in engineering may bring forward new innovations that enable robots to bypass manual touch.
The gripper by Festo has a pneumatically controlled silicone structure. With compressed air, it opens up, and when air is retracted, it grips an object gently yet firmly. Some of the suction cups are passive, some active.
On the one hand, this robotic innovation is likely to drive more human hands off conveyor belts. At the same time, as Festo suggests, “Thanks to its soft material, the artificial tentacle is not only able to grip in a gentle and safe manner. It also fulfils the strict criteria of a soft robotics component and thus has great potential for collaborative working space of the future.”
So while the OctobusGribber and other bio-mimicked engineering innovations will reduce humans at conveyor belts, they can also create new human-robot co-working opportunities.
Robotic “feel” or “touch” is a key area of research in robotics. Robots’ touch and movements are often clumsy and react slowly to changes around them. The MIT Biomimetic Robotics Lab studies this phenomenon and trains robots to react in similar ways to humans or animals would.
Octopus is not the only inspiration to create robots.
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