Versatile Soft Robot Gripper Enabled by Stiffness and Adhesion Tuning via Thermoplastic Composite
Versatile Soft Robot Gripper Enabled by Stiffness and Adhesion Tuning via Thermoplastic Composite
复制标题
通过热塑性复合材料调节刚度和粘附力的多功能软机器人夹具
DOI：
10.1089/soro.2020.0088
复制
发表时间：
2021
期刊：
影响因子：
7.9
通讯作者：
Majidi, Carmel
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Coulson, Ryan;Stabile, Christopher J.;Turner, Kevin T.;Majidi, Carmel
在机器人领域，刚度调整技术具有多种应用的潜力-也许最值得注意的是机器人抓取。许多刚度调整夹具已经开发出来，可以抓住易碎或不规则形状的物体而不会造成损坏，同时仍然适应大载荷。除了在提升物体时限制夹持器变形外，在接触形成后增加夹持器刚度可以改善界面处的负载分担并增强附着力。在这项研究中，我们提出了一种新型的刚度和附着力调谐夹具，该夹具通过嵌入在硅酮接触垫中的热塑性复合材料的热诱导相变来实现。抓手的工作原理是，在加热、柔软的状态下，将垫子与物体接触，然后在举起物体之前，让垫子冷却并变硬，形成牢固的粘合剂。使用夹持器进行的拉离测试表明，在抓取期间从软到硬状态的过渡可使粘附强度增加6倍。此外，还建立了一个有限元模型来模拟夹持器的行为。最后，进行了拾取和放置演示，这突出了抓手巧妙地抓住各种形状、大小和重量的物体的能力。
Within the field of robotics, stiffness tuning technologies have potential for a variety of applications—perhaps most notably for robotic grasping. Many stiffness tuning grippers have been developed that can grasp fragile or irregularly shaped objects without causing damage and while still accommodating large loads. In addition to limiting gripper deformation when lifting an object, increasing gripper stiffness after contact formation improves load sharing at the interface and enhances adhesion. In this study, we present a novel stiffness and adhesion tuning gripper, enabled by the thermally induced phase change of a thermoplastic composite material embedded within a silicone contact pad. The gripper operates by bringing the pad into contact with an object while in its heated, soft state, and then allowing the pad to cool and stiffen to form a strong adhesive bond before lifting the object. Pull-off tests conducted using the gripper show that transitioning from a soft to stiff state during grasping enables up to 6 × increase in adhesion strength. Additionally, a finite element model is developed to simulate the behavior of the gripper. Finally, pick-and-place demonstrations are performed, which highlight the gripper's ability to delicately grasp objects of various shapes, sizes, and weights.