An ‘origami robot hand’

The Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), a computer science artificial intelligence laboratory under MIT, has developed a paper folding robot hand. It is made to be able to catch or drop all things regardless of weight or shape.

When you look at the robot hand you made, there is a distance from the hand of the person who came out of the robot. A popped paper looks like a balloon. Of course, if you are different from a balloon, you are in the shape of a bag that hangs upside down. When objects are placed in the middle, they are squeezed through the wrinkles that surround the object or cling to it.

Made using 3D printers, like paper folds, these areas are made of fabric or rubber to create flexibility and grip, and can be transformed into any form of vacuum. Thanks to it, grape-like soft fruits are caught up to 100 times heavier than the load.

Of course, this robot hand can catch things like fruits and wine bottles, but it can not hold a shape that can not maintain airtightness if it is caught by a flat object or hole like a book. Nevertheless, such robotic hands seem to help in the task of lifting a variety of objects. Amazon warehouses, for example, have a variety of shapes and weights. Depending on the order, you may have to lift it out of the shelf. We can expect various applications such as carrying small and delicate objects in medical field.