Abstract: Robot-friendly connectors, which, in one aspect are truss joints with two parts, a receptacle and a joint, the joint having a head which is loosely inserted into the receptacle and is then tightened and aligned; in one aspect, the head is a rounded hammerhead which initially is enclosed in the receptacle with a sloppy fit provided by the shape, size and configuration of surfaces on the head and on the receptacle.

Abstract: A gripping device 10 for providing large moment-carrying capability for handling long cylindrical work-pieces W of a wide range of diameters. The device 10, which may be attached as an end effector for a robotic arm, includes two spaced pairs of parallel jaw type gripping members, 87, 102 and 101, 98. Each gripping member includes a gripping pad 110d with a contour which accommodates the grasping of cylindrical objects of different diameters. Movement of the gripping members between a fully open position (FIG. 3) and a fully closed position (FIG. 4) is controlled by a pair of concentrically arranged inner and outer output drive shafts 56, 59, each of which is provided with a pair of arms (81,82 and 83,84) extending in generally opposed radial directions of the shaft axis and to which a gripping member is pivotally attached near its distal end.