{"id":1943,"date":"2019-06-26T07:41:20","date_gmt":"2019-06-26T11:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robodk.com\/blog\/?p=1943"},"modified":"2025-09-19T03:52:25","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T07:52:25","slug":"strange-robot-end-effectors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robodk.com\/blog\/strange-robot-end-effectors\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Strange Robot End Effectors from the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are some weird and wonderful end effectors out there\u2026 and you could use RoboDK with any of them! Here are 10 of the most interesting ones.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Every year, a few new unusual end effectors appear in the robotics media. This year it’s an origami gripper, last year it was a robot hand that can give you a high-five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One great advantage to the way RoboDK handles end effectors is that it can pretty much be used with any end effector. You are not restricted by a small catalog of available end effectors. You can use whichever end effector you like and get started in just 5 minutes<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is great news if you want to use one of the more unusual end effectors available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are 10 of the strange and amazing robot end effectors from the last few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Gecko Gripper<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

OnRobot’s Gecko Gripper<\/a> is really a rising star this year. It was awarded a silver at the 2019 Edison Awards, an award which celebrates innovation in various fields (the gold prize in robotics this year<\/a> went to a robot bricklayer).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s a gripper with a difference. Instead of using vacuum gripping or articulated fingertips, the Gecko Gripper makes use of millions of microfibers. These stick to objects via the powerful “Van der Waals force<\/a>” which makes use of the strong inter-molecular forces \u2014 the same force that allows gecko lizards to climb up sheer walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Origami Flower Gripper<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The latest futuristic end effector comes from a team from MIT and Harvard universities<\/a>. It is a suction gripper which was inspired by an origami shape called a Magic Ball. It looks a bit like a flower or a Venus flytrap plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gripper consists of a soft internal skeleton and a flexible, airtight skin. When the vacuum is applied, the gripper deforms to conform to the shape of the object it’s grasping. In terms of robot control, this could be used in a similar manner to any vacuum gripper, though the gripper is still in the research phase so not currently on the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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