Magnetic gripper reliably transports dangerous objects

Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta (Georgia Tech) and Ohio State University in Columbus use three physical phenomena to create amazing movements. Four wide claws that hang on a rope quickly close around an object that is to be transported to another place. And an artificial flower unfolds in a few seconds, only to return to its original position later.

It is based on a plastic memory material
The main component is a thermoplastic memory material that, after being deformed, regains its original appearance when heated. Inside there are two types of metal granules. One type heats up when it gets into a high-frequency magnetic field, the other reacts strongly magnetically. If, for example, gripping arms are formed from it and exposed to a magnetic field, the particles heat up inside. This makes them close around an object. If the magnetic field is switched off, the inductively heated particles cool down and the gripper arms open again.