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The ‘Omnigripper’: a form of robot universal gripper

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2009

Peter B. Scott
Affiliation:
Centre for Robotics, Imperial College of Science and Technology, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2BX (U.K.)

Summary

At Imperial College, the author has invented a form of universal gripper comprising two slightly separated ‘fingers’, each consisting of an array of 8 by 16 closely spaced pins which can ride vertically up and down independently of each other. Lowering the gripper over an object pushes some pins out of the way, so creating ‘customised’ fingers which mould round and fit the part. To grasp objects, either the two (slightly separated) fingers can be brought together to grip an object externally, or else they can be moved slightly apart (from a ‘closed’ position) for an internal grip. In addition, feedback from each pin of the gripper can provide tactile information about an object.

Type
Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

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References

1.Scott, P.B., The Robotics Revolution – the complete guide for managers and engineers. (Blackwell, Oxford, 1984).Google Scholar
2.Lundstrom, G., Industrial Robots Gripper Review (IFS, Milton Keynes, UK, 1977).Google Scholar
3.Boothroyd, G., Poli, C. and Murch, L.E., Automatic Assembly (Marcel Dekker, New York, 1982).Google Scholar
4.Warnecke, H.J. and Schraft, R.D., Industrial Robots: application experience (IFS, Milton Keynes, U.K., 1979).Google Scholar