Soft Mechatronics

Abstract:
This study describes the enhancement of a vacuum actuated soft gripper’s grasping capabilities using retractable finger nails and an active re-configurable palm. The finger nail mechanism is pneumatically actuated and enables the gripper to perform complex grasping and manipulation tasks with high repeatability. The retracted nails can exert normal grasping forces of up to 1.8N […]

Traditional grippers used in industrial automation are designed for specific tasks and their mechanisms are composed primarily of stiff components. These systems tend to be expensive, heavy, bulky, and not easily adaptable to a wide variety of object shapes, sizes, and compliances. New industrial applications increasingly involve a wider range of parts to be grasped, […]