Flexiv to release "revolutionary" robotic gripper

Flexiv, a manufacturer of general-purpose robotics solutions, has announced what it says is a revolutionary new robotic gripper.

Featuring industrial-grade force control and an adhesive material based on a gecko’s foot pad, the Grav gripper can lift practically any item that fits within its grasp, according to the company.

Touted as representing the next generation of robotic grippers, it uses impactive and contigutive grasping techniques for maximum handling flexibility. This makes it possible to lift objects that are oddly shaped or have an uneven surface texture.

“We have been working on the Grav gripper for a while, as we wanted one which utilised the same force control as the Flexiv Rizon line of adaptive robots,” said Ryan Coulson, Flexiv’s Lead Mechatronics Engineer.

“Not only have we successfully implemented force control, but we have also given the gripper the ability to handle traditionally difficult objects like spheres thanks to the gecko material.”

Created to reduce the frequency of end-of-arm tool changes, the new gripper was initially designed only for use with Flexiv’s Rizon series of robots. However, testing with customers who also operated traditional cobots made it clear that there was a demand for Grav beyond Flexiv’s existing customer base.

As all of Flexiv’s adaptive robots employ a universal end-of-arm socket, only minimal modifications were necessary to make the new gripper compatible with a standard collaborative robot.

Coupled with the Grav’s handling flexibility is an industrial-grade force control capability which enables the gripper to sense a resistive force in the sub-gram region.

Flexiv says that the gripper is suitable for multiple applications, and is capable of inserting micro components, transferring delicate objects or even machine-tending applications.