A collaboration of university researchers and Ocado Technology, the research division of Ocado Group, a United Kingdom-based online grocery, have developed a robotic arm they say is capable of safely grasping a variety of products, including fresh fruits and vegetables.
The arm uses the principle of “environmental constraint exploitation,” according to a news release. The collaboration is part of the SoMa project, an European United-funded program for research and innovation in humanoid robotics.
“With SoMa, we are pursuing a new direction for robotic grasping by developing robot hands that can safely pick easily damageable items such as fruits and vegetables,” says Graham Deacon, robotics research team leader at Ocado Technology, in a news release. “The RBO Hand 2 designed by the Technische Universität Berlin offers a versatile, cost-effective and safe solution for robotic grasping and manipulation that integrates very well with Ocado’s highly-automated warehouse retail solutions.”