Related papers: Optimizing out-of-plane stiffness for soft gripper…
This paper presents a systematic topology optimization framework for designing a soft pneumatic gripper (SPG), explicitly considering the design-dependent nature of the actuating load. The load is modeled using Darcy's law with an added…
This paper introduces a novel design method that enhances the force/torque, bendability, and controllability of soft pneumatic actuators (SPAs). The complex structure of the soft actuator is simplified by approximating it as a cantilever…
This paper demonstrates the computational design of soft elastomeric pneumatic actuators using nonlinear topology optimization. An existing density- and porohyperelasticity-based topology optimization framework was extended from 2D to 3D…
The internal structure of the Fin-Ray fingers plays a significant role in their adaptability and grasping performance. However, modeling the grasp force and deformation behavior for design purposes is challenging. When the Fin-Ray finger…
Soft robotic grasping has rapidly spread through the academic robotics community in recent years and pushed into industrial applications. At the same time, multimaterial 3D printing has become widely available, enabling the monolithic…
For robot manipulation, both the controller and end-effector design are crucial. Soft grippers are generalizable by deforming to different geometries, but designing such a gripper and finding its grasp pose remains challenging. In this…
Sim-to-real transfer remains a significant challenge in soft robotics due to the unpredictability introduced by common manufacturing processes such as 3D printing and molding. These processes often result in deviations from simulated…
Soft pneumatic gripping strategies are often based on pressurized actuation of structures made of soft elastomeric materials, which limits designs in terms of size, weight, achievable forces, and ease of fabrication. On the other hand,…
Computational design can excite the full potential of soft robotics that has the drawbacks of being highly nonlinear from material, structure, and contact. Up to date, enthusiastic research interests have been demonstrated for individual…
In aerospace engineering, there is a growing demand for lightweight design through topology optimization. This paper presents a novel design optimization method for stiffened air rudders, commonly used for aircraft attitude control, based…
Compliant grippers, owing to adaptivity and safety, have attracted considerable attention for unstructured grasping in real applications, such as industrial or logistic scenarios. However, accurately modeling the bidirectional relationship…
Grasping deformable objects with varying stiffness remains a significant challenge in robotics. Estimating the local stiffness of a target object is important for determining an optimal grasp pose that enables stable pickup without damaging…
In 3D printing, stiff fibers (e.g., carbon fiber) can reinforce thermoplastic polymers with limited stiffness. However, existing commercial digital manufacturing software only provides a few simple fiber layout algorithms, which solely use…
We propose a novel tri-fingered soft robotic gripper with decoupled stiffness and shape control capability for performing adaptive grasping with minimum system complexity. The proposed soft fingers adaptively conform to object shapes…
A tunable stiffness bone rod was designed, optimized, and 3D printed to address the common shortcomings of existing bone rods in the healing of long fractured bones. The common deficiencies of existing bone fixations are high stiffness,…
Soft robotics have gained increased attention from the robotic community due to their unique features such as compliance and human safety. Impressive amount of soft robotic prototypes have shown their superior performance over their rigid…
Modulating the stiffness of soft actuators is crucial for improving the efficiency of interaction with the environment. However, current stiffness modulation mechanisms are hard to achieve high lateral stiffness and a wide range of bending…
This paper presents a hierarchical, performance-based framework for the design optimization of multi-fingered soft grippers. To address the need for systematically defined performance indices, the framework structures the optimization…
Soft grippers are gaining momentum across applications due to their flexibility and dexterity. However, the infinite-dimensionality and non-linearity associated with soft robots challenge modeling and closed-loop control of soft grippers to…
An automated prepreg fabric draping system is being developed which consists of an array of actuated grippers. It has the ability to pick up a fabric ply and place it onto a double-curved mold surface. A previous research effort based on a…