Posted on 11/11/2020 10:36:26 AM PST by BenLurkin
[E]ngineering researchers from the University of New South Wales in Sydney were inspired by an elephant’s trunk and designed what looks more like a robotic tongue that can firmly grasp objects by wrapping around them like a snake.
An elephant’s trunk can have as many 40,000 muscles it uses to manipulate its long appendage with surprising dexterity, as well as millions of nerve endings allowing it to feel what it’s grasping in order to know how much pressure to apply.
The gripper doesn’t have quite as many muscles as an elephant’s trunk—zero, to be exact—but instead relies on materials that change their structure from rigid to flexible as heating and cooling are applied, and by layering fabrics with different heat-sensitive properties, the artificial trunk can coil itself up. The gripper also incorporates a real-time force sensor that’s 15 times more sensitive than previous applications of the technology, allowing the robot to know by feel alone when a gentle grasp is needed. While the gripper is a great example of biomimicry, it’s also designed to be an alternative to more traditional robot grippers designed and built to function like a human’s hand using multiple fingers that can bend with limited mobility.
The researchers are optimistic their robo-trunk could be commercialized in as little as a year’s time assuming they find an “industry partner” that can help them solve manufacturing issues. As to who would buy it? Aside from industrial and medical uses, imagine a tool that easily retrieves dropped french fries while you’re driving? Someone’s going to make a small fortune with this thing.
(Excerpt) Read more at gizmodo.com ...
Sex industry will grab this first.
That’s creepy.
I’m not sure I would want to win one for the Gripper.
Sounds X-rated
Monica Lewinski please call the office.
Millions, of course, to develop technologies which mimic elephants, cheetahs, etc.
Hardly a whisper as these animals disappear.
and never complains of a headache.
Be prepared for lots more David Carradine deaths.
So can I and I enjoy long walks on the beach and Jammie’s and
Christmas movies in July
Buckle up. Thus thread could get interesting...
And 10 mm sockets
The Biden 1000 ?
I’d slurp it.
I can just drop a Boa backwards into that and it’ll do the same thing with its tail.
I’m going to hell for laughing at that.
There *are* no 10mm sockets.
I don’t know where they go but they’re all gone.
The first thought that came to mind was the African or the Indian elephant trunk used as the model?
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