A new robotic gripper inspired by geckos and pioneered by NASA ZDNet

Hands are hot items in the world of robots. That's one of the biggest trends out of the Automatica conference, one of the world's premiere showcases of robot technology, which recently wrapped up in Germany. Among this year's dexterous, grippy offerings is a robotic end effector inspired by a gecko's fingers. Also: Robots with soft hands will transform the world. Geckos can scale vertical and inverted surfaces thanks to microscopic flaps on their feet.