General

Gripping is an essential function in robotics; the gripper is the indispensable interface between the product to be handled and the robot.

In this respect, the evolution of robotics has also guided the development of grippers since the introduction of the first industrial robot in the early 1960s. Until the early 2000s, robotics was mainly developed in the manufacturing industry, where robots largely replaced humans in the performance of arduous, simple and repetitive tasks. In this manufacturing context, robots became specialized according to the task in hand, leading to the development of industrial grippers dedicated to the targeted task (figure