CornellCCSL may have answered one of robotics’ most difficult hurdles. Making a robot that can manipulate objects as simply as we are able with our hands. 

Creating a robot based on a human hand is very expensive and complex, and now Cornell Creative Machines Lab has come up with a cheap and simple solution using ‘granular jamming.’

The concept is a balloon like contain filled with a granular substance, like coffee. Using a vacuum, you can pick up nearly any object, even delicate ones. Genius!