Parallel Fin Ray Soft Gripper with Embedded Mechano-Optical Force Sensor
The rapid advancement in soft robotics over the past decade has driven innovation across the industrial, medical, and agricultural sectors. Among various soft robotic designs, Fin Ray-inspired soft grippers have demonstrated remarkable adaptability and efficiency in handling delicate objects. Howeve...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-02-01
|
| Series: | Applied Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/5/2576 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | The rapid advancement in soft robotics over the past decade has driven innovation across the industrial, medical, and agricultural sectors. Among various soft robotic designs, Fin Ray-inspired soft grippers have demonstrated remarkable adaptability and efficiency in handling delicate objects. However, the integration of force sensors in soft grippers remains a significant challenge, as conventional rigid sensors compromise the inherent flexibility and compliance of soft robotic systems. This study presents a parallel soft gripper based on the Fin Ray effect, incorporating an embedded mechano-optical force sensor capable of providing linear force measurements up to 150 N. The gripper is entirely 3D printed using thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), ensuring a cost-effective, scalable, and versatile design. The proposed sensor architecture leverages a gyroid lattice structure, yielding a near-linear response with an <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mi>R</mi><mn>2</mn></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> value of 0.96 across two force regions. This study contributes to the development of sensorized soft grippers with improved force-sensing capabilities while preserving the advantages of soft robotic manipulators. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2076-3417 |