Robot startup GrabIt is working on robotic hands that use static electricity to move boxes and other objects.
These mechanical "hands" possess this capability with help from powered electrodes on the surface of the gripper and its tentacle-like fingers, which allow them to maintain the electrostatic attraction between the robotic arm and the objects it carries, according to The Verge.
Demos show the hands can pick up several different objects, including cans of fruit, crates, iPads, and sheets of fabric, as well as glass and silicon.
The robotic arm can prevent dust from collecting inside by keeping charges within the arm from building up. This is done by alternating the polarities it uses, Tech Times reported.
Electrostatic attraction works best on smooth, flat surfaces since the level of attraction is affected by how much two objects are touching. It won't work, for example, on curved materials like thin semiconductor material or objects with irregular shapes. The arm solves these problems by using flexible materials that generate the attraction no matter how flexible or heavy the objects are. While traditional grabber robots use suction to lift objects, the flexible surfaces gives the robotic arm more variety in its gripping.
While machines already use electrostatic attraction to pick up objects, GrabIt's new hands provide new tasks for robots to take on in manufacturing, Tech Times reported. Such tasks include handling thin semiconductor material and other delicate materials.
GrabIt is still working on its electroadhesion grippers, which are intended to be able to operate for 10 years.
