Two-phase gripper. The gripper reorients and grasps an object while being picked up, The gripper Includes a parallel jaw gripper including a pair of opposed, two-phase fingers, each finger including a cavity covered by an elastic strip wherein the elastic strip includes a point contact. Closure of the jaws of the gripper on as object at a first relatively lower force results in contact with lower friction between the point contact on the elastic strip on the fingers and the object allowing the object to rotate under gravity as the gripper is raised. Thereafter, closure of the jaws of the gripper on the object at a second relatively higher force causes the elastic strip to receded into the cavity resulting in multi-point contact with higher friction between the fingers and the object to securely grasp the object. In a preferred embodiment, the cavity is a Y-shaped groove and the object is cylindrical or prismatic.

A fastening end effector is presented. The fastening end effector comprises a hammering insertion die translatable into and out of a housing of the fastening end effector along a longitudinal axis of the fastening end effector; and grippers positioned circumferentially around the hammering insertion die to hold a head of a fastener against the hammering insertion die, the grippers independently moveable relative to the hammering insertion die.

A system includes a processor, a robotic arm comprising an end effector, wherein the end effector comprises a plurality of ridges, a sensor configured to detect vibrations from the plurality of ridges, and a memory module. The memory module stores machine-readable instructions that cause the processor to perform operations including contacting, with the plurality of ridges, a target object, detecting, with the sensor, vibrations from the plurality of ridges caused by a movement between the target object and the plurality of ridges, determining an attribute of the movement based on the detected signals, and adjusting the end effector based on the attribute of the movement.

A substrate transfer robot includes a hand and a robot control unit. The hand includes: four guides (including a guide disposed on a distal end of the hand body) that are provided on the top surface of a hand body, and receive an outer edge portion of the substrate; a pusher disposed on a proximal end of the hand body; a pusher actuator that moves the pusher horizontally; and a weight sensor unit that measures the weight of the substrate placed on the hand. The guides and the pusher together grip the horizontally-orientated substrate on the four guides by clasping the substrate in the horizontal direction. The robot control unit changes the gripping force for gripping the substrate placed on the four guides, by controlling the pusher actuator depending on the weight measured by the weight sensor unit.

A system includes a gantry having an end-of-arm tool (EOAT). The gantry can include a first linear actuator that is configured to axially move the EOAT along a first axis and second linear actuator that is configured to axially move the EOAT along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis. The system can further include at least one input conveyor. Each input conveyor can have a plurality of pucks that are each configured to receive a prescription container and carry the prescription container to the gantry. The system can further include at least one output conveyor that is configured to receive the prescription container from the gantry. The gantry can be configured to move the prescription containers from the plurality of pucks to the output conveyor(s).

A system for applying eyelashes, the system including a first micro-robot, including a first plurality of magnets, and a wire comb, wherein the wire comb includes an attachment end, and a second micro-robot, including a second plurality of magnets, a tube configured to accept the wire comb, and a gripper configured to secure and release an eyelash. Further, A method of applying eyelashes, including securing a first micro-robot having a wire comb to a first location, sliding a second micro-robot along the wire comb with a tube so that a gripper of the second micro-robot contacts an attachment end of the wire comb, gripping an eyelash between the gripper and the attachment end, positioning the first microrobot and the second micro-robot to apply the eyelash, retracting the gripper from the attachment end, and applying the eyelash.

An apparatus including at least one drive; a first robot arm having a first upper arm, a first forearm and a first end effector. The first upper arm is connected to the at least one drive at a first axis of rotation. A second robot arm has a second upper arm, a second forearm and a second end effector. The second upper arm is connected to the at least one drive at a second axis of rotation which is spaced from the first axis of rotation. The first and second robot arms are configured to locate the end effectors in first retracted positions for stacking substrates located on the end effectors at least partially one above the another. The first and second robot arms are configured to extend the end effectors from the first retracted positions in a first direction along parallel first paths located at least partially directly one above the other. The first and second robot arms are configured to extend the end effectors in at least one second direction along second paths spaced from one another which are not located above one another. The first upper arm and the first forearm have different effective lengths. The second upper arm and the second forearm have different effective lengths.

A container holder for holding a container in a container processing system. The container holder includes first and second jaws moveable between a gripping position and an open position. The first and second jaws holding the container when the first and second jaws are in the gripping position. The first and second jaws releasing the container when the first and second jaws move from the gripping position toward the open position. A container remover contacts the container held by the first and second jaws as the first and second jaws move from the gripping position toward the open position to remove the container from the first and second jaws should the container be stuck to the first jaw or the second jaw.

An apparatus including a drive, a first robot arm, a mechanical drive transmission, and a second robot arm. The first robot arm includes a first upper arm, a first forearm and a first end effector, where the first upper arm is connected to the drive at a first axis of rotation, and where the first end effector comprises two laterally spaced substrate holding areas. The mechanical drive transmission connects the drive to the first forearm at a first joint between the first upper arm and the first forearm for the drive to rotate the first forearm, where the mechanical drive transmission includes at least one non-circular pulley and a first band. The second robot arm includes a second upper arm, a second forearm and a second end effector, where the second upper arm is connected to the drive at the first axis of rotation.

The present invention relates to gripper for gripping an item. The gripper comprises a shaft extending longitudinally along an axial direction, a gripper head mounted on the shaft such that it is allowed to slide along the axial direction with respect to the shaft. The gripper head comprises a housing and at least one movable arm, wherein each movable arm is movable relative to the housing. The gripper is configured such that a relative motion along the axial direction between the shaft and the gripper head causes the at least one movable arm to move. The present invention may also relate to systems comprising the gripper, uses of the gripper and methods for gripping an item with the gripper.