Inspired by real octopus tentacles, Festo’s OctopusGripper is a bionic robotic arm that consists of a silicone structure fitted with two rows of suction cups. It can be pneumatically controlled, and once compressed air is applied, the tentacle curls inwards, wrapping itself tightly around objects and gripping them with its vacuum-like suction cups. Continue reading for another video, more pictures and information. Click here for a few bonus images of Steampunk robots, gadgets and cars, all made entirely from scrap metal.
“The robotic tentacle is designed to work along humans in an industrial environment, so it’s soft and flexible nature of the arm means that the gripper poses no danger to the user in contact. Thanks to its elastic and deformable nature, the octopus gripper even fulfills the high requirements of soft robotics and can be used without hesitation for working with humans,” reports Design Boom.
