Transformable Soft Gripper: Uniting Grasping and Suction for Amphibious Cross-Scale Objects Grasping.

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Soft Robotics
• Mechanical Engineering

Background:

• Current robotic grippers are limited to single modes (picking or suction), restricting their adaptability to various object sizes.
• A need exists for grippers that can handle a wide range of object scales and operate in diverse environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel soft gripper with transformable grasping modes for cross-scale object manipulation.
• To demonstrate the gripper's amphibious capabilities for both air and underwater applications.
• To expand the potential of robots in real-world interactions by overcoming size limitations.

Main Methods:

• Development of a compact, scalable soft gripper prototype (20 mm diameter).
• Design of two distinct grasping configurations: picking and suction.
• Derivation of theoretical analytical models for each grasping mode.
• Detailed illustration of the gripper's fabrication process.
• Experimental validation in air and underwater environments.

Main Results:

• The gripper successfully grasps objects ranging from 2 mm (10% of prototype size) to over 200 mm (1000% of prototype size), a 100-fold range.
• High success rates were achieved in attaching and detaching everyday and industrial items.
• Demonstrated practical utility through amphibious grasping and card manipulation tasks.

Conclusions:

• The transformable soft gripper offers a versatile and scalable solution for robotic grasping.
• Its amphibious nature and wide object-scale adaptability significantly enhance robotic application potential.
• This approach represents a practical advancement in soft robotics for real-world interaction.