I have used a Differential in a robotics competition before, we were limited to 3 motors so 2 for drive and steering then one left for a robotic arm. I used a differential for the one motor to turn it into two outputs, the first part was a hand that grabbed the item( we were picking up trash for the challenge) and then when the hand was fully closed, the power through the differential locked and the other output started to lift the arm up. (This is similar to when a truck gets one wheel stuck in a ditch and the other wheel freely spins) So the differential allowed for a grab and lift movement with one motor, then to put the item back down, the motor went in reverse and the hand opened dropping the item, and once the hand was fully open the arm lowered itself.