suction gripper

Astrictive-type grippers, which generate gripping forces from adhesive forces at the contact surface such as suction cup, are popular end-effectors as picking solutions because of their simplicity and small working space. However, the adhesive force of the astrictive gripper decreases with increasing complexity of the object surface; thus, its application has been restricted to simple picking of objects with a flat surface. Here, we present an all-round honeycomb astrictive gripper that has an orthotropic surface tension for grasping highly irregular shaped objects with an uneven surface.