Universal and multifunctional soft robotic grippers that are gentle yet strong and precise

The research team at NC State invented a new design of universal and multifunctional lightweight soft grippers (0.4 g). The soft robotic gripper is ultra-gentle yet ultra-strong and ultra-precise in handling a variety of objects, ranging from fragile (e.g., liquid drops and jelly fish), granular (e.g., caviar and pills), slippery (e.g., pudding and pork), and heavy objects (over 6 kg or 12 lb) to thin disks (e.g., micro-SD and micro-film), as well as easy to integrate with industrial robotic arms and prosthesis for handling challenge tasks in daily life such as folding clothes, picking grapes from vines, opening zippers, and turning pages. The work is published on Nature Communication at