Sweet....not bad.... Makeblock has them on their website for $29.... I may buy a couple

Yeah. They do have visual appeal. I'm not sure how fast they can open and close since it looks like a worm gear arrangement to draw it closed.

@Troy Thanks for sharing! I might have to pick one of those up, and maybe one of those Darth Vader Arms as well

@skater_j10 No problem. If I see anything that's new or different I like to post it.
Dont bother on that Vader arm. I bought one of those a year or so ago. There isn't any part of it you can mod as it is made very cheaply. As a model for inspiration maybe but it has no hack value.
As far as the gripper, I think even if it turns out to be slow to close and open, it is possible to mod.

This is the claw in action:




I've been thinking about getting a pair myself but was concerned as to the proprietary connection on the connecting wire.
how would you wire this up? replace the tip with a servo wire or cut off the connector and connect the wires to a sabertooth controller?

You will need a motor controller. From the pic I see there is just 2 wires with no feedback. You could try and add micro switches to keep it from going past full open or close.
Judging by the small size, I doubt you need many amps.

That's what i figured.

These are the motor specifications from Makeblock:

Code:

Motor Specification:

    Voltage: 12v
    Operating current: ?110mA
    Speed: 600±10%RPM

Note:The motor need to stop by human control but not stop at fully open and fully closed in this version.

micro switches might be an option but i'm not sure how you would mount those on the gripper in any way that wouldn't interfere with picking up objects.

Cut the connectors off and just use a motor controller... How about a force sensor on one or more of the gripper fingers?

I vaguely remember someone in the forum speaking about using current sensing to indicate a stalled motor. Perhaps worth investigating.
I cant see the video from my work computer but judging by the picture you could try a microswitch for the full open. Another option for picking up something are pressure sense pads on the tips of the claws and flex sensors across the back of the "fingers" to sense the amount of open/close.