Hardware

Vacuum Pump

A vacuum pump is a device that removes air from a sealed volume to create the negative pressure that drives suction-based end effectors. Robotic systems use electric diaphragm or rotary vane pumps for continuous vacuum, or Venturi ejectors that generate vacuum from compressed air with no moving parts. Key specifications include achievable vacuum level, flow rate (which determines recovery after leaks), and response time for gripping and release cycles.

Why it matters for physical AI

Pump sizing determines pick reliability on porous or irregular objects, and vacuum sensing (detecting whether a seal was achieved) provides a cheap, robust grasp-success signal for closed-loop picking and for automatically labeling manipulation data.