The two dominating gripper technologies in the market are rigid fingered grippers, which have aluminum or plastic jaws, and pneumatic grippers, which use suction to lift and hold parts. These technologies have their weaknesses.
For example, a rigid jawed gripper may not be ideal for picking soft objects, such as food items. On the other hand, suction grippers cannot form a seal on porous or rough surfaces.
Soft robotics has a unique finger made of silicone, which is actuated by inflating chambers in the finger with air. This creates a gripper which is compliant and elastic, naturally adapting to the size and pressure required to grasp different objects without marking them.
In this video, we chat with Carl Vause, CEO of Soft Robotics, about the product.