
Jamming Grippers Combine to Form Robotic Elephant Trunk - eguizzo
http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/robotics-hardware/jamming-grippers-combine-to-form-robotic-elephant-trunk#.T7aZD_l6Jmg.hackernews
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shabble
This is a really neat idea, it's kind of like a randomised 3D Hirth Joint[1]
which means you can lock the joint into a far stronger piece than it'd be able
to maintain by actuator strength alone. It also reminds me a lot of the
electro/magnetorheological[2] fluid hydraulics (where magnetic particles are
suspended in a hydraulic system, and the viscosity & damping of the system can
be altered electronically). Actually, just looking at the WP article quotes an
article[3] using it for clutches.

[1] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirth_joint>

[2] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrorheological_fluid>

[3]
[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957415896...](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957415896000372)

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lupatus
Reminds me of the squid robots from the third Matrix movie:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0pV8AaXr7E>

I wonder how well a robot with these appendages would do at asteroid mining?
Also, it is now possible to make a robotic Cthuhlu.

