Robot Hand made of a Balloon and Coffee Grounds

This is a very, very innovative approach to robot hand design. This is taking the concept of grasping in a different direction, outside of what we normally perceive to be a hand.

"Most current designs are based on the multifingered hand, but this approach introduces hardware and software complexities. These include large numbers of controllable joints, the need for force sensing if objects are to be handled securely without crushing them, and the computational overhead to decide how much stress each finger should apply and where."

"Here we demonstrate a completely different approach to a universal gripper. Individual fingers are replaced by a single mass of granular material that, when pressed onto a target object, flows around it and conforms to its shape. Upon application of a vacuum the granular material contracts and hardens quickly to pinch and hold the object without requiring sensory feedback."

Source: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/get-a-grip-robotic-hand.php