At the 52nd International Symposium on Robotics (ISR), the intelligent gripper RG2-FT was awarded second place in the coveted innovation prize. With this award, the industry associations IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (IEEE/RAS) and International Federation of Robotics (IFR) honor outstanding developments in the automation industry. The RG2-FT impressed the jury with its integrated sensors in its fingertips, which enable it to perform high-precision tasks. OnRobot sees the award as confirmation that it is on its way to becoming a one-stop store for collaborative applications.

"We are very proud of the award," says Enrico Krog Iversen, CEO of OnRobot. "In the coming years, collaborative robots themselves will increasingly become standard industrial equipment in modern manufacturing. Innovation and added value will then come from the applications as a whole through the interaction of the robot arm, software, end effectors, sensors and application area. The award reflects this trend."

Since 2005, the IEEE/RAS and the IFR have presented the award to companies that have distinguished themselves through pioneering achievements in the field of automation technology. This year, the presentation of the nominated products as well as the award ceremony took place virtually during the 52nd International Symposium on Robotics ISR. The two-day conference offered participants from industry and research an insight into the latest cutting-edge robot technologies.

A gripper for tasks with a low tolerance range

The RG2-FT is a special version of OnRobot's RG series with integrated force-torque sensors and a proximity sensor in the fingertips. The gripper also has integrated software so that it can think for itself and control the robot arm in real time. With these prerequisites, the RG2-FT handles objects of different sizes and shapes and determines their position precisely, even if exact parameters cannot be programmed in advance.

The accurate probing of the RG2-FT ensures improved production quality by reducing the error rate in sensitive placement processes. It also opens up a new field of automated application scenarios that were previously impossible to implement.

With its easy-to-use, flexible applications, OnRobot has set itself the goal of making collaborative automation accessible to companies of all sizes. Intelligent sensor technology plays a major role right from the start. In this way, the company is constantly opening up new areas of application for robotics.