Robots Use Static Electricity To Lift Objects
- 10 years ago
Researchers have harnessed the power of static electricity and made it useful for picking up objects.
Static electricity can make clothes ride up and hair stand on end, but apparently it doesn’t always use its power for evil.
Start-up company Grabit devised a way to utilize static electricity to pick objects up. They outfitted robots with electrostatic hands, allowing them to cling onto and transport a number of items including crates, soda cans and fruit.
They even managed to pick up, move, and put down delicate objects like iPads and solar panels without damaging them.
There aren’t many robot grippers currently being used that can make similar claims.
Those that get their attaching and releasing abilities via vacuum suction or mechanical movements often have trouble handling fragile objects.
Traditional grippers also tend to use up a lot of power and manufacturing them can be quite expensive.
The gentler, cheaper static electricity version made an appearance recently at the RoboBusiness conference, and its developers are hopeful for its future.
They believe that with the right tweaks, their electrode creations may be of great benefit on conveyor belts, where they could be installed for sorting purposes.
Static electricity can make clothes ride up and hair stand on end, but apparently it doesn’t always use its power for evil.
Start-up company Grabit devised a way to utilize static electricity to pick objects up. They outfitted robots with electrostatic hands, allowing them to cling onto and transport a number of items including crates, soda cans and fruit.
They even managed to pick up, move, and put down delicate objects like iPads and solar panels without damaging them.
There aren’t many robot grippers currently being used that can make similar claims.
Those that get their attaching and releasing abilities via vacuum suction or mechanical movements often have trouble handling fragile objects.
Traditional grippers also tend to use up a lot of power and manufacturing them can be quite expensive.
The gentler, cheaper static electricity version made an appearance recently at the RoboBusiness conference, and its developers are hopeful for its future.
They believe that with the right tweaks, their electrode creations may be of great benefit on conveyor belts, where they could be installed for sorting purposes.