Robots are usually only hands dass-- hands-but some researchers of the University of Chicago and Cornell University (with a little help from iRobot) a decidedly different approach for their so-called universal robot grippers have taken. As you can see above is actually the gripper a balloon that can match and handle just about any small object and hang enough to pick it up on it firmly. What is the secret? After much testing, the researchers found that the best substance the balloon fill with ground coffee was-to grab an object, the gripper is simply a vacuum in the balloon (similar to a vacuum sealed bag coffee) created and it is then able, just leave through the release of the vacuum of the object. Simple, but it works. Head over to the break, check it out in action.[Thanks, Jeremy]
2010 posted October 5th 2: 40 pm 
Ah, the Fujitsu bear cub social robots. What child or elderly person should go without a "people-friendly Terminal" with snuggly soft fur and a camera instead of the popular button nose? The little guy made short the round this year, but this is our first time to make acquaintances. The duo waved us, waved us, laughed with (?) us and then eventually decided arbitrarily fall asleep, ignore uns-- just like our actual friends! The representative told us this prototype - with a reported 300 actions 12 actuators (three face, three neck and six in the body), 13 skin touch sensors, hand grip sensors, a tilt sensor and a microphone - one unchecked way of hitting childcare / nursing home market. For now, enjoy the pictures below and footage, after the break... and if all this eerily familiar hey seems, we are with you. A wink and a nod in this direction can be found on the second video.