Non-Contact End Effector for Robotic Handling of Compliant Products

Abstract

The paper identifies the need for a new range of end effectors suitable for compliant products and briefly introduces a novel non-contact end effector which has been developed at the University of Salford. This end effector operates on the principle of generating a high-speed fluid flow between the nozzle and product surface thereby creating a vacuum which lifts the product. The gap between nozzle and product is to some extent self-regulating and imposes local rigidity which is useful during manipulation.