

Balloon filled with ground coffee makes ideal robotic gripper - cwan
http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-10-robotic-gripper-coffee-balloons.html

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js2
On a touch device, I can barely find a place to scroll that page w/o clicking
an ad. Here's the non-blog spam and ad-free source:
[http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Oct10/UniversalGripper.h...](http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Oct10/UniversalGripper.html)

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Rhapso
I have always found it amazing that the most complex problems can be solved
with solutions so simple that it takes us a while to figure them out.

This looks great, and I can imagine it on all kind of robots.

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die_sekte
Well, yeah, but this isn't all that simple. It just seems simple.

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J3L2404
Coffee grounds, balloon, vacuum source ==

Robotic hand that can pick up:

An Egg

A shock absorber

An LED

A coin

Simplicity Rules!

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aiurtourist
If I were an investor I would use my capital to fund better-smelling robots,
like this one.

Pluck on, grippy coffee-scented robot. Pluck on.

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pontifier
I have greatly enjoyed sucking the air out of plastic bags filled with all
sorts of materials... This "jamming" effect has been used in all sorts of
applications, and it's the second robotic application I've seen. This is
great... I only wish I had thought of it first... in my experience I would try
a less constrictive outer casing.. thin plastic produce bags work better than
you would expect.

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billswift
Polyethylene bags would be too slick. Even with the conforming shape and
rigidity from the vacuum, the glass of water shown in one of the photos would
have slipped out of the grip. Latex is a much "stickier" surface.

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unwind
So, was I the only one to wonder if "latex party balloon" might be a ...
euphemism? :) Looking at the video I no longer think so, though.

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pavel_lishin
I wouldn't be surprised if they tried using condoms, too. Non-lubricated, of
course, but maybe ribbed for the robot's pleasure?

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stretchwithme
This distributes the forces just as evenly as a beanbag distributes your butt
force. I needed a tool that evenly distributed forces when applied to muscles
and a tiny beanbag in front of plates that roughly approximate the surface is
what I came up with.

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ryanpetrich
Upvoted for finding a legitimate use for the phrase "butt force"

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willscott
There was something really similar to this (if not the same thing) that came
out of University of Chicago recently.

[http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/10/25/a-robot...](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/10/25/a-robot-
with-beanbag-hands-learns-the-gentle-touch/)

Physicists are calling these materials 'granular media' - and there is a ton
of research going into that field right now.

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jonemo
Chicago and Cornell (and iRobot) are collaborators on this project. That's why
there was "something similar" from Chicago recently ;)

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jonhohle
Vac Man ([http://io9.com/329398/vac+man-was-one-space-monster-who-
suck...](http://io9.com/329398/vac+man-was-one-space-monster-who-sucked-
literally)) has come to life! Cool to see this being used in a practical
application.

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tdoggette
This could be very useful for relatively low-cost prosthetics. All you need
from the user is an arm to mount it on and the ability to control vacuum on
and off.

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joezydeco
...and a vacuum source. And a power source for the vacuum. And a way to keep
the sound under 90 dB.

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Luyt
Plus, you always have some coffee around when you suddenly crave caffeine ;-)

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metabrew
I love how he describes it as "a mass of granular material encased in a latex
membrane". I bet that looks really nice when typeset with latex :)

