Instead, it gets power from air pressure, is triggered when it is pushed against the object to be caught, and then releases when the gripper it turned sideways.
A pressure pad at the centre of the claw detects contact and, once the claw closes, the sensor remains pressed to latch the grip. A deflection sensor in the wrist undoes the gripper, so the initial catch has to be done with the gripper above the object moving downwards (see photo).
The whole thing is an example of ‘soft robotics’, being made from a gel.
