Tech Briefs Magazine - December 2022 - MD16

Tentacle Robot Can Grasp Fragile Objects
The soft gripper could be used in real-world applications to grasp soft fruits and vegetables for
agricultural production and distribution as well as delicate tissue in medical settings.
Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Cambridge, MA
M
ost of today's robotic grippers rely on
embedded sensors, complex feedback
loops, or advanced machine learning
algorithms, combined with the skill of
the operator, to grasp fragile or irregularly
shaped
objects. But
researchers
from the Harvard John A. Paulson School
of Engineering and Applied Sciences
(SEAS) have demonstrated an easier way.
Taking inspiration from nature, they
designed a new type of soft robotic gripper
that uses a collection of thin tentacles
to entangle and ensnare objects, similar
to how jellyfish collect
stunned prey.
Alone, individual tentacles, or filaments,
are weak. But together, the collection of
filaments can grasp and securely hold
heavy and oddly shaped objects. The
gripper relies on simple inflation to wrap
around objects and doesn't require sensing,
planning, or feedback control.
" With this research, we wanted to reimagine
how we interact with objects, "
said Kaitlyn Becker, former graduate student
and postdoctoral fellow at SEAS,
who is currently Assistant Professor of
Mechanical Engineering at MIT. " By taking
advantage of the natural compliance
of soft robotics and enhancing it with a
compliant structure, we designed a gripper
that is greater than the sum of its
parts and a grasping strategy that can
adapt to a range of complex objects with
minimal planning and perception. "
The gripper's strength and adaptability
come from its ability to entangle itself
with the object it is attempting to grasp.
The foot-long filaments are hollow, rubber
tubes. One side of the tube has
thicker rubber than the other, so when
the tube is pressurized, it curls like a
pigtail or like straightened hair on a
rainy day.
The curls knot and entangle with each
other and the object, with each entanglement
increasing the strength of the hold.
While the collective hold is strong, each
contact is individually weak and won't
damage even the most fragile object. To
release the object, the filaments are simply
depressurized. be able to solve it.
Helping the model understand and ac16
The
gripper wrapping around a succulent. (Image: Harvard Microrobotics Lab/Harvard SEAS)
Motion Design, December 2022

Tech Briefs Magazine - December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tech Briefs Magazine - December 2022

Tech Briefs Magazine - December 2022 - Intro
Tech Briefs Magazine - December 2022 - Sponsor
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