Smart Hands for Russian Factories
Robots are gaining a sense of touch. Researchers in Russia’s Ural region have developed universal adaptive gripping devices designed to handle objects of varying shapes, sizes, and fragility, addressing one of the key bottlenecks in flexible industrial automation.
From Pneumomechanics to Fractals
The Center for Industrial Robotics Development at South Ural State University (SUSU) has unveiled two adaptive gripping devices – a pneumomechanical chain gripper and a pneumatic fractal gripper. These “smart hands” are engineered for environments such as small-batch, high-mix manufacturing, where conventional rigid grippers often fall short.
The pneumomechanical chain gripper uses a plate-based chain as its active element. Under air pressure, the chain automatically wraps around an object, securing it without prior setup or reconfiguration. This makes the device easy to integrate into automated robotic cells as well as manual operations during small-batch assembly stages.
The second design, a pneumatic fractal gripper, relies on six movable hemispheres that synchronize around a part, distributing force evenly and preventing damage to components with complex geometry. The option to configure the device with one or two active modules further expands its versatility.
Both adaptive gripping devices are designed to adapt to customer equipment. Custom flanges with tailored mounting hole patterns allow rapid deployment into existing production lines. This reduces setup time and lowers modernization costs, an important factor for sectors such as machine building and metallurgy.
Aligned With Global Robotics Trends
SUSU’s developments align with global trends toward universal adaptive gripping devices, including soft grippers based on microspheres made of expanded polystyrene, which have demonstrated strong gripping force and stability when handling objects of arbitrary shape.
Experimental data show that such technologies reduce downtime, increase automation flexibility, and improve overall productivity. Beyond technical gains, the importance of the SUSU work is strategic. These solutions help reduce Russia’s dependence on imported automation components, an increasingly critical consideration amid global supply chain constraints.
One Code, Two Realities
The university is systematically building an industrial robotics ecosystem. A training and research robotic complex is already in operation at SUSU, equipped with computer vision and machine vision systems. Its defining feature is the synchronized operation of a digital twin and physical hardware. The same software code is first tested in a virtual environment with precise models of robot kinematics, cameras, and sensors, and then deployed unchanged on a real collaborative robot. This approach significantly accelerates development while improving safety during implementation.
In September 2025, the university launched specialized courses in programming, diagnostics, and maintenance of industrial robots. Students and professionals gain hands-on skills in autonomous programming, peripheral integration, and safe system commissioning – competencies that are in high demand in today’s industrial labor market.
Russian Robotics Moves Toward Independence
Russian companies already have tangible experience in developing intelligent robotics.
Promobot, one of the country’s leading service robotics firms exporting solutions to 42 countries, develops universal robotic platforms, including autonomous robots with proprietary SDKs for AI application development. Starting with version 4.0, the company has used fully domestic software for speech and facial recognition.
Its product lineup includes the humanoid Robo-C with 36 degrees of facial freedom, Promobot Control terminals for temperature measurement and access control, and the Promobot Scanner for document workflow automation. Based on the V4.0 platform, the company created a diagnostic robot capable of measuring blood pressure, pulse, and blood sugar levels. The Scorpion robot, originally designed for security tasks, was adapted in 2020 for disinfecting indoor and outdoor spaces. All devices are assembled in Perm and consist of roughly 80 percent Russian-made components. By 2035, the company plans to develop a full-fledged humanoid robot.
Despite challenges related to standardization and competition, the outlook for Russian adaptive robotics is strong. By 2030, solutions integrated with AI, machine vision, digital twins, and adaptive gripping devices could compete with foreign counterparts in logistics, assembly, and flexible manufacturing.
Universal, intelligently controlled adaptive gripping devices are in demand worldwide, and Russian engineers are steadily moving toward export-oriented products that combine innovation, practicality, and technological sovereignty.
