Plenty of roboticists get inspiration from nature when optimizing their designs. UC San Diego Bioinspired Robotics and Design Lab researchers have come up with a soft robotic gripper with gecko inspired adhesives that can grasp a wide variety of objects. The gripper can lift up to 45lbs.
This robotic gripper can pick up a can of soda, mug, large cylinders, and everything in between. Pretty neat if you ask us. More info is available here.