Nature Fresh Farms shows interest in octopus-inspired robot hands

Nature Fresh Farms is looking for a robot that can sort, size, and pack beefsteaks without bruising. And they might have found the solution for this at Soft Robotics. The fact that the robot’s fingers can be snapped off and sterilized adds to the appeal, said Curtis Anderson, a technologist for Nature Fresh. Contamination is the major factor that is driving produce manufacturers to automate. The Food Safety and Modernization Act put a focus on preventing illness, and for many companies, this means finding ways to clean up the factory floor.

Soft Robotics's robotic arm can move vegetables back and forth on a party tray for days. Bright-blue fingers curl like tentacles around a piece of broccoli and carry it over to an adjoining compartment. The tentacles flex in midair, then move a piece of ginger one spot over. Then a quince, then a small pepper — and repeat. This is ground zero at Soft Robotics, a company that wants to get its specialty robot hands all over your food....

Click here for the complete article at betaboston.com