A robot equipped with a ‘universal gripper’ can now fire objects through basketball hoops and play darts, after a fashion.

Researchers from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and the University of Chicago previously demonstrated that their ‘gripper’, which consists of a rubber bag filled with granular material instead of the more common articulated ‘fingers’, could pick up heavy items, such as car shock absorbers, and delicate items, such as raw eggs (see: ‘Ground coffee helps robots get a grip‘).

They have now added the ability to shoot objects picked up via positive pressure, as demonstrated in this video. Time to resurrect the Robo-Hoops contest.