@article {933062, title = {Flexible and soft robotic grippers: the key to new markets?}, journal = {Industrial Robot}, year = {2016}, abstract = {\ PurposeThis paper aims to provide details of recent commercial and academic developments in flexible and soft grippers and considers their impact on emerging robotic markets.Design/methodology/approachFollowing an introduction, this paper first considers commercially available anthropomorphic robotic hands and soft grippers. It then discusses a selection of recent research activities and concludes with a brief discussion of the potential of these developments.FindingsAnthropomorphic robotic hands, which seek to mimic the structure and capabilities of the human hand, together with a technologically diverse family of soft grippers have recently have been commercialised. Most are produced by companies which spun-out from academic establishments. A strong body of innovative research continues and involves a wide range of principles and technologies. These gripping technologies are expected to catalyse several new and emerging applications; the most important being in agile manufacturing, particularly when used with collaborative robots (cobots).Originality/valueThis paper provides details of recent developments and research into anthropomorphic hands and soft grippers and an insight into their applications.\ }, url = {http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/IR-01-2016-0027}, author = {Robert Bogue} }