1 Parallel Robot and Mechatronic System Laboratory of Hebei Province, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, China.
2 Key Laboratory of Advanced Forging and Stamping Technology and Science, Ministry of Education of China, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, China.
Soft Robot. 2019 Apr;6(2):276-288. doi: 10.1089/soro.2018.0024. Epub 2019 Jan 16.
The improvement of the load capacity of soft grippers has always been a challenge. To tackle this load capacity challenge, this work presents four novel types of high-load (HL) soft grippers that are bioinspired by bionic winding models. The winding models are found commonly in many animals and plants, where different winding patterns are used to grip different objects. Inspired by the winding models, we design four bionic winding structures that are driven by pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs), and then four HL soft grippers are formed out of the winding structures. The inner cavities of the HL soft grippers contract after the PAMs are inflated, which enables objects to be wrapped to achieve gripping. Compared with most existing soft grippers, the HL soft grippers have a higher load capacity, and they can also grip various objects that have different shapes and stiffnesses without damaging them. In addition, in man-machine collaboration, operators can be in direct contact with them without being hurt. Our study helps lay the foundation for engineered systems with bionic winding structures.
提高软夹爪的承载能力一直是一个挑战。为了应对这一承载能力挑战，本工作提出了四种新型的高承载（HL）软夹爪，它们是受仿生缠绕模型启发而设计的。这些缠绕模型在许多动植物中都很常见，不同的缠绕模式被用于夹持不同的物体。受缠绕模型的启发，我们设计了四种由气动人工肌肉（PAMs）驱动的仿生缠绕结构，然后由这些缠绕结构形成四个 HL 软夹爪。当 PAMs 充气时，HL 软夹爪的内部腔体收缩，从而能够包裹物体以实现夹持。与大多数现有的软夹爪相比，HL 软夹爪具有更高的承载能力，并且它们还可以夹持各种形状和刚度不同的物体而不会损坏它们。此外，在人机协作中，操作人员可以直接与之接触而不会受伤。我们的研究为具有仿生缠绕结构的工程系统奠定了基础。
