Technology

Vine-inspired robot fingers can reach out and grab someone

Source

MIT Technology Review

Published

Feb 24, 2026

TL;DR

AI Generated

Engineers at MIT and Stanford University have developed a robotic gripper inspired by vines that can gently lift various objects, including people. The gripper consists of pressurized tubes that inflate and coil around objects before lifting them. The design, combining "open loop" and "closed loop" actions, can be applied to tasks like agricultural harvesting, eldercare, and heavy industry operations. The researchers aim to automate tasks such as sorting warehouse products and unloading cargo using this innovative technology.

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