Hardware

End-Effector

End-Effector is the device mounted at the distal end of a robot arm that interacts with the environment, including parallel-jaw and multi-fingered grippers, suction cups, welding torches, screwdrivers, and cameras. It attaches at the tool flange, and its tool center point defines the frame in which Cartesian motions and task poses are specified. End-effector choice largely determines which tasks an arm can perform.

Why it matters for physical AI

Gripper morphology constrains the entire learning problem: parallel jaws simplify data collection and policy output spaces, while richer end-effectors expand task coverage at the cost of harder control and data acquisition.