Post by VUB TechTransfer

Innovative self-healing grippers bring sustainability to industrial robotics. 🤖♻️ The SNAP project, a collaboration between BruBotics - Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the Physical Chemistry and Polymer Science research group, and imec is making industrial automation more sustainable and efficient.   By developing a new generation of self-closing, self-healing vacuum grippers, the team is addressing high maintenance costs and energy waste in sectors like logistics and pharmaceuticals. Key benefits of this innovation: ✅ Energy efficiency: Delivers up to 60% reduction in vacuum system energy consumption. ✅ Circular economy: Made from recyclable materials, supporting resource conservation. ✅ Ease of use: The technology is retrofittable, allowing existing systems to be upgraded simply by replacing conventional suction cups. With testing already completed in industrial settings, this technology represents a scalable step forward for the circular economy. We look forward to seeing this technology develop further as VUB start-up Valence Technologies-Healant takes it to the global market. Check out the tech explained by Seppe Terryn in the video below 👇 Zhanwei Wang Bram Vanderborght Simon Beckers Vrije Universiteit Brussel