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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Rod-based Fabrication of Customizable Soft Robotic Pneumatic Gripper Devices for Delicate Tissue Manipulation

Rod-based Fabrication of Customizable Soft Robotic Pneumatic Gripper Devices for Delicate Tissue Manipulation

Published on: August 2, 2016

A bionic soft tongue driven by shape memory alloy and pneumatics.

Ning Gong¹, Hu Jin¹, Shuaishuai Sun¹

¹CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Precision Machinery and Precision Instrumentation, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230027, People's Republic of China.

Bioinspiration & Biomimetics

|June 15, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Inspired by dog tongues, a novel bionic soft tongue was developed. This soft gripper can handle both solid and liquid objects, expanding applications for flexible robotics.

Keywords:

bionic soft tongue pneumatic actuation shape memory alloy soft robots

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Area of Science:

Robotics
Biomimetics
Materials Science

Background:

Soft grippers offer advantages like flexibility and safe object interaction.
Handling both solid and liquid objects significantly broadens soft gripper applications.
Dog tongues demonstrate effective solid and liquid manipulation through extension and ladling motions.

Purpose of the Study:

To design a bionic soft tongue inspired by canine lingual locomotion.
To enable a soft gripper capable of manipulating both solid and liquid substances.
To enhance the versatility and application range of soft gripping technologies.

Main Methods:

A bionic soft tongue was constructed with a pneumatically driven base for elongation and a shape memory alloy wire-driven tip for curling.
A dynamic model of the tongue base was developed for a model-based feedback controller.
A phase dynamic model of the tongue tip was simulated for optimization.

Main Results:

The bionic soft tongue demonstrated linear extension and contraction capabilities.
The tongue tip successfully curled into a ladle shape for grasping.
The model-based feedback controller enabled fast response and precise motion control.
Experimental validation showed the gripper successfully handled water, rice, and gel balls.

Conclusions:

The bionic soft tongue effectively mimics dog tongue actions for versatile object manipulation.
This novel design expands the potential applications of soft grippers in handling diverse materials.
The integration of pneumatic and shape memory alloy actuation provides precise control for complex motions.