Abstract
In this paper, a variable structure pneumatic soft robot is proposed. Its structure is variable in that when it grasps irregular objects, it can adapt to different sizes by active expansion or contraction. Its expansion range is from diameter 200 to 300 mm, its four soft pneumatic actuators (SPAs) can be rotated independently to adapt to different shapes, and it has high flexibility. The active compliant grasping method enables it to capture at the best position, which can improve the success rate of capture and reduce damage to the object being grasped. The experiment proves the effectiveness of the variable structure mechanism, and the proposed soft robot has low cost and a simple manufacturing process, so the mechanism has great application prospects.
Highlights
In this paper, a variable structure pneumatic soft robot is proposed
Its expansion range is from diameter 200 to 300 mm, its four soft pneumatic actuators (SPAs) can be rotated independently to adapt to different shapes, and it has high flexibility
With the rapid development of the field of soft robots, many soft grippers driven by different driving modes have been proposed, such as shape memory alloy actuators (SMAs)[4,5,6,7,8], electroactive polymer actuators (EAPs)[9,10,11,12,13], pneumatic grippers[14,15,16] or prosthetic jammers[17,18,19], self-healing p olymers[20] etc
Summary
A variable structure pneumatic soft robot is proposed. Its structure is variable in that when it grasps irregular objects, it can adapt to different sizes by active expansion or contraction. With the rapid development of the field of soft robots, many soft grippers driven by different driving modes have been proposed, such as shape memory alloy actuators (SMAs)[4,5,6,7,8], electroactive polymer actuators (EAPs)[9,10,11,12,13], pneumatic grippers[14,15,16] or prosthetic jammers[17,18,19], self-healing p olymers[20] etc They all rely on passive compliance for gripping, these actuators either are fixed under the substrate, so under the being grasped same object, the success rate and safety of grasping vary with the shape and size of the object being grasped. If it is necessary to grasp small objects, the end of SPA is affected by the curvature of the object or other external factors, such as dislocation, jitter and so on, which reduces the success rate of grasping small objects, and the appropriate opening size adapted to the size of the object can effectively improve the adhesion and stability of SPA
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