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Adhesion01:14

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Versatile Adhesion-Based Gripping via an Unstructured Variable Stiffness Membrane.

Aoyi Luo1, Sumukh S Pande1, Kevin T Turner1

  • 1Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Soft Robotics
|July 14, 2022
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study introduces a shape memory polymer (SMP) gripper for robotic grasping. The variable stiffness material enables dynamic control of adhesion, allowing robots to pick and place diverse objects effectively.

Keywords:
dry adhesivesrobotic gripperswitchable adhesionvariable stiffness

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Area of Science:

  • Robotics
  • Materials Science
  • Polymer Science

Background:

  • Versatile robotic grasping requires adaptable adhesion mechanisms.
  • Variable stiffness materials offer tunable properties for dynamic control.
  • Shape memory polymers (SMPs) present opportunities for stimuli-responsive materials.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and demonstrate a robotic gripper utilizing a variable stiffness shape memory polymer (SMP) membrane.
  • To investigate the ability of the SMP membrane to conform to and adhere to 3D objects.
  • To quantify the adhesion performance in different states and on various surfaces.

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of an unstructured SMP membrane with tunable stiffness.
  • Integration of the SMP membrane into a robotic gripper system.
  • Testing the gripper's ability to pick-and-place 3D objects of varying shapes.
  • Quantification of adhesion ratios between stiff and soft states on flat and curved substrates.

Main Results:

  • The SMP membrane successfully conformed to and adhered to 3D objects in its soft state.
  • Switching to the stiff state significantly increased adhesive load capacity.
  • Adhesion ratios of >2000 (curved) and ~115 (flat) were achieved between high-adhesion and low-adhesion states.
  • The gripper demonstrated passive adhesion maintenance after actuation and no adhesion in the unactivated state.

Conclusions:

  • Variable stiffness SMP membranes are effective for versatile robotic grasping.
  • The developed gripper offers dynamic control over adhesion for object manipulation.
  • The material's ability to switch between soft and stiff states enables efficient pick-and-place operations with high adhesion and controlled release.