Latest / The Robotics Podcast with Fexingo: Autonomous Systems, Industrial Robots, and Hardware
Why Robot Arms Still Cant Handle a Pill
Episode 66 of The Robotics Podcast tackles the surprisingly difficult task of picking up a single pill from a blister pack. Lucas and Luna explore the engineering challenges: the low-friction coating of tablets, the precision needed to avoid crushing, and the computer vision limitations in distinguishing a pill from its shiny foil backing. They reference a 2025 MIT study that benchmarked gripper success rates at under 30% for common ibuprofen-sized tablets, and discuss why this matters for automated pharmacy dispensing. The episode also covers emerging solutions like soft grippers and…
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