grippers
Enable an AI agent to recognise a hand-exercise gripper, assess its condition and resistance characteristics, and support authorised hand-strength training or assessment without treating exercise results as a medical assessment.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
5 bundles · 9 layers · 15 findings · 25 questions
Gripping identity and contact Establishes which sense of gripper applies and how the device engages an object.
Device boundary
Separates the gripping device from neighbouring equipment and alternative meanings.
Intended gripper sense
Record the evidence supporting the object-handling interpretation and the boundary of the gripping assembly.
- Does the registry source identify an object-handling gripper, an exercise device or another meaning? provenance
- Which components belong to the gripper, and which belong to its manipulator, fixture or utility supply? boundary
Engagement mechanism
Describes the physical interaction and geometry that create retention.
Contact and restraint
Record the gripping principle, contact arrangement and object motions restrained by the engaged interface.
- Does retention depend on friction, geometric capture, pressure difference, magnetic attraction, adhesion or a combination? definition
- Which object dimensions, approach clearances and surface regions must match the fitted gripping interface? measurement
Object fit and retention Relates holding capability to a particular object and handling load.
Surface and material fit
Captures object properties that enable gripping or create damage risks.
Compatible contact conditions
Record mechanism-specific compatibility requirements and tolerable effects on the object.
- Which surface, porosity, magnetic, stiffness or shape properties must the object satisfy for this gripping principle? boundary
- What limits on contact force, pressure, deformation or marking apply to the object? measurement
Load-dependent capacity
Defines retention limits under the expected orientation and motion.
Supported handling loads
Record allowable forces and moments together with the configuration and evidence that qualify them.
- What forces and moments arise from object mass, centre-of-mass offset, orientation and planned acceleration? measurement
- Which manufacturer data or tests establish adequate retention for those loads and the actual contact configuration? provenance
Actuation and grip evidence Connects commands, utility conditions and observations to acquisition and release.
Drive and integration
Identifies how the gripper is mounted, powered and commanded.
Operating configuration
Record attachment requirements, utility ranges and the controls available for the fitted mechanism.
- Which mounting and control interfaces connect this gripper to its host equipment? boundary
- What supply conditions and settings govern opening, closing, holding and release? measurement
Retention and release verification
Defines the evidence required to interpret each stage of the gripping cycle.
Verified gripping cycle
Record observable criteria for acquisition, stable retention and successful release, including uncertain states.
- Which position, force, pressure, flow, proximity or other observations distinguish a retained object from an empty or incomplete grip? measurement
- What evidence must be present before moving the object or withdrawing the gripper after release? action
- How should the controller respond when sensor evidence contradicts the commanded grip state? action
Grip failure and serviceability Addresses loss of retention, unintended contact and deterioration of gripping components.
Failure and recovery
Captures what happens when grip integrity, utilities or release functions fail.
Loss-of-grip response
Record credible failure modes, retained-energy behaviour and permitted recovery actions.
- What happens to the object following power loss, pressure loss, vacuum leakage, slipping or a jammed mechanism? definition
- Which support, isolation and recovery actions are required before approaching or releasing a faulted grip? action
- Which applicable standards, issuing bodies and host-system requirements govern pinch hazards and dropped-object protection? provenance
Contact maintenance
Tracks deterioration and configuration changes that alter gripping capability.
Serviceability and requalification
Record inspection criteria for gripping surfaces and mechanisms, plus checks required after replacement or adjustment.
- Which wear, contamination, leakage, looseness or deformation observations make the fitted gripping interface unserviceable? measurement
- What functional or retention checks are required after changing fingers, pads, cups, seals or gripping settings? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of grippers this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of grippers this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of grippers this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of grippers this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of grippers this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of grippers this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of grippers this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- PHY
- Domain
- PHY.OBJ
What it is Filled
Grippers, in the hand-exercise sense, are resistance devices squeezed in the hand to train or assess the strength of the muscles responsible for gripping.
In scope
- Resistance mechanisms oppose the user's squeezing motion.
- Handle geometry, contact surfaces and fit affect the user's grip.
- Fixed or adjustable resistance and closing behaviour define exercise characteristics.
- Resistance ratings and any measurement capabilities require documented interpretation.
- Wear, damage and maintenance affect safe device use.
Out of scope
- Robotic grippers and other devices for holding or transferring objects are excluded.
- General-purpose clamps and stationary workholding fixtures are excluded.
- Complete robots, manipulators and their motion planning are excluded.
- Medical diagnosis and individual rehabilitation prescriptions are excluded.
- Individual product catalogues and unit histories are not separate models of this registered kind.
Why it exists Filled
Enable an AI agent to recognise a hand-exercise gripper, assess its condition and resistance characteristics, and support authorised hand-strength training or assessment without treating exercise results as a medical assessment.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Its primary function is to resist a user's squeezing motion for hand-strength training or assessment.
- It has hand-contact surfaces through which the user applies force against resistance.
- Resistance may be fixed or adjustable according to the device design.
- A resistance rating alone does not establish that the device measures grip strength.
- An object-handling gripper does not belong to this hand-exercise sense.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Push a user to train through pain or past a rating they cannot control.
- Present grip readings from an exercise gripper as a medical assessment.
- Share a person's strength or health data beyond the audience they chose.
Only with a human decision
- Using grip results to judge a person's health, fitness for work or rehabilitation progress.
May
- Record grip strength readings and training sessions for the user who asks.
- Explain resistance ratings and safe progression in general terms.
Moral aspects Filled
- Overtraining the hand and forearm can cause lasting tendon injury.
- Strength data can be used to judge or exclude people unfairly.
Who is affected
- Users training their hands
- People in rehabilitation
Owners Filled
Steward
The person who owns and uses it.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q352222 - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.grippers
- Wikidata: Q1435859 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1435859)
Direct properties required Filled
- Gripping principle: mechanical friction; form closure; suction; magnetic attraction; adhesion; hybrid; other
- Contact arrangement: finger or jaw count and motion; cup or pad layout; enveloping surface; custom arrangement
- Usable gripping envelope: mm for opening, stroke, insertion depth and compatible object dimensions, with configuration stated
- Retention capacity: N and N·m by load direction, object interface and operating condition
- Contact loading: N per contact or total force; kPa contact pressure where meaningful; measurement convention stated
- Actuation and utility requirements: manual; electric; pneumatic; hydraulic; passive or spring-driven; required supply conditions recorded separately
- Grip state: released; acquiring; retention confirmed; retention uncertain; releasing; faulted; unknown
- Object compatibility: compatible object classes or tested objects, with material, geometry, surface and fragility conditions
- Loss-of-energy response: retains; releases; retention decays; configuration-dependent; unverified
- Contact-interface condition: serviceable; worn; contaminated; damaged; incorrectly fitted; unassessed
Recognition required Filled
- Two handles joined by a coiled torsion spring, squeezed together in one hand.
- Some models show a rated resistance or have an adjustable spring.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Assess whether a specified object can be acquired, retained and released with the fitted contact interface.
- Select compatible fingers, pads, cups or operating settings within documented limits.
- Request gripping or release through the available control interface when task conditions permit.
- Verify retention using mechanism-appropriate evidence before permitting object transfer.
- Diagnose slipping, leakage, incomplete closure or failed release from observed symptoms.
- Identify inspection or maintenance needed before returning the gripper to service.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- A spring can snap or a handle slip and pinch or strike the hand.
- Repeated heavy use can strain tendons in the wrist and fingers.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety, issued by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, applies to hand grippers marketed as consumer products in the European Union.
Context of use required Filled
- Hand grippers are used in gyms, homes and rehabilitation settings to exercise the muscles involved in squeezing and holding.
- Calibrated devices can support repeatable strength assessments, while ordinary exercise grippers primarily provide training resistance.
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q1435859: grippers - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Grippers - general description of the item
Open questions
- Does the originating registry record mean industrial object-handling grippers, hand exercise grippers or another device class?
- Does an existing Vercy world model already cover this concept, requiring a registry link instead of a separate publication?
- Where should this entry's boundary fall for stationary clamps, lifting magnets, vacuum lifters and integrated gripping fixtures?
- Which authoritative sources establish applicable standards and configuration-dependent capacity, dimensional and supply ranges for the included gripper families?
- Which grip-verification and maintenance criteria can be shared across mechanisms, and which require separate treatment for mechanical, suction, magnetic and adhesive gripping?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q1435859/spec.json