According to the POPSCI of October 26, researchers at Cornell University, the University of Chicago and iRobot developed a robotic gripping device made of a latex party balloon filled with ground coffee. It takes advantage of a physical phenomenon called jamming transition: when particles (like coffee grounds) are so densely packed, they behave like a solid. When they're loosely packed, they behave like a liquid。

　　据美国“大众科学”网26日报道，来自康奈尔大学、芝加哥大学和iRobot公司的研究员们日前用咖啡粉和乳胶气球造出了一款机器抓取设备。该设备采用了一种叫做“拥堵转换”的物理学原理，即当微粒(如咖啡粒)被紧紧挤压在一起不能彼此滑动穿过时，便会凝聚成固体状，而当它们之间留有空隙，便呈现液体状态。