Schunk’s Co-act gripper JL1 is said to be the world's first collaborative gripper capable of directly interacting and communicating with humans. The most distinguishing features of the Co-act gripper JL1 are its flexible outer skin with curved edges, integrated protection against workpiece loss and its LED panel.
Even at a basic level, the gripper satisfies the most critical requirements of safe human/robot collaboration. For example, the device never loses grip of an object, always detects contact with humans and will never cause injury when gripping, states the company.
A safe drive provides for both a wide gripping force range and functional safety. If a process is interrupted, such as in the case of an emergency stop, the part is assured to remain in a reliable grip. With the help of an environment sensor, the gripper continuously detects factors in its surroundings and processes the data using integrated software. If the device comes into unwanted contact with humans, it automatically limits its gripping force.
With the help of specially designed gripping techniques and force-measuring jaws in its fingers, the Schunk Co-act gripper JL1 adjusts its behaviour in real time, depending on whether it is gripping a workpiece or a human hand.
