Robotic Grippers Adopt Advanced Sensors for Enhanced Precision

Grippers are one of the most commonly used end effectors in the manufacturing industry. They are used for several different material handling applications, including palletizing, pick and place, and packaging. And now, some robotic grippers could be getting a little on the sensitive side by adding gripper sensors.

According to an article from roboticstrends.com, researchers are beginning to apply artificial skins and sensors to robots to further improve their accuracy and precision in these areas. These gripping sensors could also mean a better ability to communicate and work with other robots and humans.

This new “skin,” deemed ROBOSKIN, allows the robotic gripper sensors to actually give robots the artificial sense of touch. ROBOSKIN, which is modeled after actual human skin, has artificial nerves that can feel changes in environment like hot to cold or smooth to rough.

Currently, this skin is still under development. It is currently being used in humanoid robots like Kaspar, a robot that helps autistic children. It is theorized that by giving a robot this sense of touch, it can assimilate and learn behavior.

The article stated that though the tactile robot sensors used in ROBOSKIN are not a new innovation, the unique design of the skin could solve the problem of giving robots more sensory perception.

While ROBOSKIN might not be available on the market for a while, RobotWorx has several other robot grippers that can handle the stress of different work environments and different tolerances for a variety of materials. These motion and vision sensors are features that can be added to your robot system to help further improve your application.

RobotWorx, a certified integrator for several end effectors, has a large catalog of grippers with sensors available for purchase, including servo, bag and vacuum grippers. RobotWorx can match you with the right robot and system for your applications.