パックマングリッパ：薄肉シェルの座屈を利用した触覚センシングと把持
The "Pac-Man'' Gripper: Tactile Sensing and Grasping through Thin-Shell Buckling
薄い半球殻の座屈を利用した流体駆動ソフトグリッパを提案し、単一の圧力入力で滑りやすい物体や繊細な物体を包み込むように把持でき、接触・把持・解放状態を自己検知できることを示した。
著者: Kieran Barvenik, Zachary Coogan, Gabriele Librandi, Matteo Pezzulla, Eleonora Tubaldi
分類: cs.RO
原文アブストラクト
Soft and lightweight grippers have greatly enhanced the performance of robotic manipulators in handling complex objects with varying shape, texture, and stiffness. However, the combination of universal grasping with passive sensing capabilities still presents challenges. To overcome this limitation, we introduce a fluidic soft gripper, named the ``Pac-Man'' gripper, based on the buckling of soft, thin hemispherical shells. Leveraging a single fluidic pressure input, the soft gripper can encapsulate slippery and delicate objects while passively providing information on this physical interaction. Guided by analytical, numerical, and experimental tools, we explore the novel grasping principle of this mechanics-based soft gripper. First, we characterize the buckling behavior of a free hemisphere as a function of its geometric parameters. Inspired by the free hemisphere's two-lobe mode shape ideal for grasping purposes, we demonstrate that the gripper can perform dexterous manipulation and gentle gripping of fragile objects in confined environments. Last, we prove the soft gripper's embedded capability of detecting contact, grasping, and release conditions during the interaction with an unknown object. This simple buckling-based soft gripper opens new avenues for the design of adaptive gripper morphologies with applications ranging from medical and agricultural robotics to space and underwater exploration.