New Robotic Arm Design Based on Elephant's Trunk

The Bionic Handling Assistant (BHA) from Festo of Esslingen, Germany is a working concept inspired by the anatomy of an elephant's trunk. Festo's goal of developing the BHA was to study and improve the interaction between humans and robots. Perhaps the impression of elephants as being gentle giants was a big factor in the early stages of development.

From the product page:

A significant advantage over heavy industrial robots is the fact that direct contact between humans and machines is now no longer hazardous. In the event of a collision the system yields immediately, without becoming unstable. Its design comprising three basic elements, the hand axis with ball joint and the adaptive FinGripper makes for smooth movement, with more degrees of freedom and an unparalleled mass/payload ratio, and enables efficient use of resources in production and operation.

Here's an animation and a demo video of the Bionic Handling Assistant: