Kang Gyeongji, Kim Young-Joo, Lee Sung-Jin, Kim Se Kwon, Lee Dae-Young, Song Kahye
Center for Intelligent and Interactive Robotics, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, 02792, Republic of Korea.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea.
Nat Commun. 2023 Aug 2;14(1):4633. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40358-y.
Pick-and-place is essential in diverse robotic applications for industries including manufacturing, and assembly. Soft grippers offer a cost-effective, and low-maintenance alternative for secure object grasping without complex sensing and control systems. However, their inherent softness normally limits payload capabilities and robustness to external disturbances, constraining their applications and hindering reliable performance. In this study, we propose a weaving-inspired grasping mechanism that substantially increases payload capacity while maintaining the use of soft and flexible materials. Drawing from weaving principles, we designed a flexible continuum structure featuring multiple closed-loop strips and employing a kirigami-inspired approach to enable the instantaneous and reversible creation of a woven configuration. The mechanical stability of the woven configuration offers exceptional loading capacity, while the softness of the gripper material ensures safe and adaptive interactions with objects. Experimental results show that the 130 g·f gripper can support up to 100 kg·f. Outperforming competitors in similar weight and softness domains, this breakthrough, enabled by the weaving principle, will broaden the scope of gripper applications to previously inaccessible or barely accessible fields, such as agriculture and logistics.
拾取和放置在包括制造业和装配业在内的各种工业机器人应用中至关重要。软夹爪为安全抓取物体提供了一种经济高效且维护成本低的选择，无需复杂的传感和控制系统。然而，其固有的柔软性通常会限制负载能力和对外部干扰的鲁棒性，从而限制了它们的应用并阻碍了可靠的性能。在本研究中，我们提出了一种受编织启发的抓取机制，该机制在保持使用柔软灵活材料的同时，大幅提高了负载能力。借鉴编织原理，我们设计了一种柔性连续体结构，其具有多个闭环条带，并采用一种受剪纸启发的方法来实现编织构型的瞬时和可逆创建。编织构型的机械稳定性提供了出色的承载能力，而夹爪材料的柔软性确保了与物体的安全和自适应交互。实验结果表明，130 gf的夹爪可支撑高达100 kgf的重量。这一由编织原理实现的突破在重量和柔软度相似的领域中优于竞争对手，将把夹爪的应用范围扩大到以前无法进入或几乎无法进入的领域，如农业和物流领域。
