Everyday Object Robot Hand

So these researchers at Cornell University invented a Robot hand/gripper out of household objects that seems to be pretty efficient. It is actually made of a balloon filled with coffee beans! The balloon is pressed onto the surface that needs to be gripped. Then a vacuum sucks all the air out of the balloon which grips the object! Pretty nifty

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Oct10/UniversalGripper.html