A robot apparatus includes a clamp mechanism; a transport mechanism; and a control unit. The clamp mechanism includes a first finger that has a first support surface and a housing portion and a second finger. The first support surface supports an aligned wire group that includes a plurality of wires, the housing portion includes a guide wall that is connected to the first support surface and regulates an amount of movement of the band member in a width direction. The second finger has a second support surface facing the first support surface and a facing portion being connected to the second support surface and facing the housing portion. The transport mechanism is capable of moving the clamp mechanism. The control unit controls a grip force of the clamp mechanism and a direction of movement of the clamp mechanism by the transport mechanism.

Plant for packaging articles to be filled with a product and closed with a closing element, comprising at least two modular apparatus for filling and closing randomly fed articles, each configured with a filling station and a closing station; the plant further comprising an extraction system for transporting the filled and closed articles, with an extraction plane on which the filled and closed articles are transported in a longitudinal direction and are arranged with a predefined extraction orientation and/or position and in an extraction sense from upstream to downstream; wherein said at least two modular filling and closing apparatus are arranged in series from upstream to downstream along the longitudinal direction and are configured to position the respective filled and closed articles on the same extraction plane in order to obtain a common flow of articles being extracted.

A device for automatically hand-swaying beverage cups is disclosed, comprising a robotic arm and a cover, wherein the robotic arm has a plurality of movable arms and a plurality of joints that pivotally connect each of the movable arms to each other, and at the extreme end of such movable arms there install a pair of symmetrical clamping components and a clamping controller, and also includes a host computer electrically connected to each of the movable arms, each of the joints and the clamping controller, respectively; in addition, the cover respectively has a conical surface on the outside, an inner hole is openly configured on the bottom surface of the cover, and each of the clamping components can collectively clamp the cover and the cup thus facilitating the hand-swaying operations of the cup with the robotic arm.

Structural designs and operational methods for object grasping and within-hand manipulation of an object is provided using rolling structures. The use of rolling structures reduces the need of finger gaiting, which is the periodic relocation of fingers on the object while maintaining a grasp, during manipulation. Embodiments of the invention provide a more efficient method of in-hand manipulation and grasping. In one example, two degrees of freedom rollers allow the object being manipulated in any direction in 3D space while remaining contact with the object.

This invention comprises a device for measuring root pulling force (RPF) in a plant. The RPF device comprises a plant grasping mechanism, as well as a force measurement sensor. In certain embodiments, the device is automatic, so that the “hand of man” is not required to exert force on the plant while the root pulling force of the plant is being measured. Also disclosed is a root pulling force motion mechanism, which brings the RPF device into proximity of a plant to be measured. Further disclosed is a method for measuring root pulling force of a plant.

A dispenser tool (42) is provided with multiple cartridges for dispensing viscous material onto the surface (5′) of a wind turbine blade (5). The dispenser tool (42) is advantageously part of a robot system used to work the surface (5′) of the blade (5). The system is configured for bringing the nozzle of a selected cartridge into the vicinity of the surface (5′) and orienting the dispenser tool (42) relatively to the surface (5′) such that the nozzle (46) of the corresponding selected cartridge (44) is at the surface (5′) for providing viscous material onto the surface (5′) from the selected cartridge (44) while moving the nozzle (46) along the surface (5′).

Gripper structures can be used to conform to and support complex surfaces. For example, a system described herein can include a gripper structure. The gripper structure can include a plurality of iterations in a series of layers. The series of layers can be arranged in a progression in which each successive layer is adjacent to a preceding layer. The series of layers can include an anchor layer including a single shape of the pattern. The series of layers can include intermediate layers including a plurality of shapes that are copies of the single shape and are more numerous and smaller than shapes in its preceding layer. The series of layers can include a base layer including the most and smallest shapes in the series of layers. The series of layers can also include a plurality of joints. Each shape on the base layer can include an adhesion promoting mechanism.

A robotic system assembly comprises a robotic manipulator including an actuator assembly and a surgical instrument having a base body mountable to the actuator assembly. The base includes a first control input and a second control input, wherein the first and second control inputs are positioned on different sides of the base. The actuator assembly is moveable between open and closed positions to facilitate removal and replacement of surgical instruments. When in the closed positions, drive elements of the actuator assembly are positioned to drive the first and second control inputs of the surgical instrument to cause end effector movement or actuation.

An end-effector for a programmable motion device is disclosed. The end effector includes a body that includes a contact portion, the body providing an open interior through which a vacuum may be provided to the contact portion, and the body includes at least one feature that is adapted to facilitate the contact portion to become substantially non-planar while grasping.

A wafer suspension fork has a body and a cover. The body has a connection portion having multiple inlets and two arms being symmetrical in shape and protruding from the connection portion. Each arm has a holding surface, a flowing surface, multiple inner and outer inclined holes formed in the holding surface arranged along a protruding direction, an inner flowing channel formed in the flowing surface and communicating with the inner inclined holes and the inlets, and an outer flowing channel formed in the flowing surface and communicating with the outer inclined holes and the inlets. The cover is fixed to a bottom surface of the body. A wafer is able to be suspended and held above the two arms by adjusting pressure of gas flowing out from the inner and outer inclined holes and is able to be moved free from being scratched.