Research Projects

Soft robotic grippers are an emerging field that combines principles from robotics, materials science, and engineering to create grippers that are flexible, adaptable, and can grasp a wide range of objects. They are made from soft, flexible materials and actuated by pneumatic, hydraulic, or electrical actuators. Soft robotic grippers have a wide range of potential applications, from industrial manufacturing to medical and rehabilitation devices. Research in this area focuses on exploring new applications and developing prototypes for real-world use. They are especially useful in applications requiring safe interactions with environments or object because of their inherent compliance. Most designs on focusses on pneumatic actuation because of their reliable and robust operations. More importantly, they enable dynamic modification of stiffness of the gripper, thus enabling them to handle delicate objects. However, their response is slow and are difficult to control. On the other hand, tendon-driven soft robotic grippers have several advantages, including precise control over the gripper position and force, high force output, and being more energy efficient than other types of grippers. But they suffer from poor stiffness properties, as it is primarily a function of the material of the gripper. Therefore, a novel hybrid design is proposed that incorporates the ability to dynamically vary the stiffness of the fingers of the gripper, thus enabling the gripper to safely grasp and manipulate complex objects. Hybrid tendon-driven pneumatic soft robotic grippers are a relatively new area of research that combines the advantages of both designs, and there is limited literature available on them. More research is needed to explore the full potential of these grippers and address the challenges of tendon routing and fatigue, pneumatic control, and the integration of these two systems. The following key activities will be taken up as part of this project: • Designing and fabrication of a tendon-driven three-finger robotic gripper with variable stiffness. • Systematic characterization of compliance, force, and motion of a single finger • Mapping actuation pressure, tendon tension, stiffness, and shape • Characterizing grasping and grip • Synthesize an impedance control for pick and place of odd-shaped objects. Upon completing the above tasks, it will be shown that the hybrid design integrates fast and energy efficient characteristics of tendon-driven grippers, with robustness and reliability of pneumatic actuation. Further the hybrid design eases grasping and manipulating complex objects, such as irregular shapes, deformable objects, and objects with variable stiffness.