“Now with reflexes, we think we can one day pick and place in every possible way, so that a robot could potentially clean up the house.”

Reacting to stimuli on the fly has been exclusive to living beings for much until now. In a world of uncertainties, adjusting to changes in our surroundings has been a big reason why we’re still around as a species.

In their pursuit of giving robots a human touch, MIT engineers have now developed a gripper that grasps by reflex.