Electronics? This 3D-Printed Gripper Doesn’t Need Electronics to Function!

Watch this video to see a soft robotic gripper which was 3D printed in one print and also doesn’t need any electronics to work. The device, developed by a team of roboticists at the University of California San Diego, is equipped with built-in gravity and touch sensors, the gripper can pick up, hold, and release objects. No such gripper existed before this work.

“We designed functions so that a series of valves would allow the gripper to both grip on contact and release at the right time,” said Yichen Zhai , a postdoctoral researcher in the Bioinspired Robotics and Design Lab at the University of California San Diego and the leading author of the paper, which was published in the June 21 issue of Science Robotics. “It’s the first time such a gripper can both grip and release. All you have to do is turn the gripper horizontally. This triggers a change in the airflow in the valves, making the two fingers of the gripper release.”