Empire Robotics
Empire Robotics was a Boston-based company that commercialized the VERSABALL jamming gripper, a granular-material end-effector for universal robotic grasping.
Empire Robotics was founded in 2012 as a spinout from Cornell University and was headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The company commercialized jamming gripper technology originally developed in partnership with iRobot and funded by DARPA. Its flagship product, the VERSABALL, consisted of a flexible membrane filled with granular material: in its compliant state it conformed to irregular object shapes, and when a vacuum was applied it rigidified around the object to complete the grasp.
VERSABALL was marketed as a universal end-effector capable of handling objects of varying shapes and sizes without custom tooling. The product became commercially available in January 2014. Empire Robotics closed operations in spring 2016, citing difficulty building a sustainable commercial business around the technology.
The company's gripper concept influenced subsequent soft-robotics gripping research and commercialization.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
VERSABALL
Universal jamming gripper that uses granular material and vacuum to conform to and rigidly grasp objects of varied shapes and sizes.
Contact Empire Robotics
WEBSITE
https://empirerobotics.comHEADQUARTERS
United States
Company Facts
Founded
2012
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
North America
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
-
Funding Total
-
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Warehouse Automation Intralogistics Automated Mobile Robots Systems Integration
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