Abstract: A robot gripper comprising a pair of gripper surfaces with flexible, non-elastic membranes disposed on each gripper surface respectively, these membranes being comprised of cubic cells filled with compressible fluid, so that when each gripper surface makes contact with the object to be lifted, they simultaneously compress and lift the object whereby the friction between the object and the gripper surfaces generates a shear force which distorts the membranes. As the compression and lifting forces are simultaneously increased, the distortion to the membranes will also increase until the pressure inside the cubic cells is large enough to provide sufficient friction force to lift the object.