2. Industrial grippers and associated technologies

2.1 Picking up objects

Gripping an object defines the configuration of the material elements involved in grasping the object, and the forces they exert on the object. To grasp an object, we distinguish between grippers involving contact with the object, and non-contact grippers.

In the case of mechanical contact with the object to be handled, two different physical principles can be exploited to produce the necessary gripping forces (figure 6 ): adhesion on the one hand, and the mechanics of the object/sensor contact on the other. These contact elements may be punctual, linear or surface-based. They can develop unilateral grip forces (adhesion...