Soft Gripper with Electro-Thermally Driven Artificial Fingers Made of Tri-Layer Polymers and a Dry Adhesive Surface
Soft grippers have attracted great interest in the soft robotics research field. Due to their lack of deformability and control over compliance, it can be challenging for them to pick up objects that are too large or too small in size. In particular, compliant objects are vulnerable to the large gra...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Biomimetics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/7/4/167 |
| _version_ | 1797461316648042496 |
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| author | Xiangmeng Li Qiangshengjie Shi Huifen Wei Xiaodong Zhao Zhe Tong Xijing Zhu |
| author_facet | Xiangmeng Li Qiangshengjie Shi Huifen Wei Xiaodong Zhao Zhe Tong Xijing Zhu |
| author_sort | Xiangmeng Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soft grippers have attracted great interest in the soft robotics research field. Due to their lack of deformability and control over compliance, it can be challenging for them to pick up objects that are too large or too small in size. In particular, compliant objects are vulnerable to the large grasping force. Therefore, it is crucial to be able to adjust the stiffness of the gripper materials. In this study, a soft gripper consisting of three artificial fingers is reported on. Each of the artificial fingers is made of a tri-layer polymer structure. An exterior layer, made of an ecoflex–graphene composite is embedded with electric wires as a heating source, by applying direct-current potential. The Joule heat not only allows for deformation of the exterior layer, but also transfers heat to the middle layer of the thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) elastomer. As a result, the stiffness of the TPU layer can be adjusted using electro-thermal heating. Meanwhile, the third layer consists of a polydimethylsiloxane replica as a supporting layer with a gecko-inspired dry adhesive structure. By applying voltage through electric wires, the artificial fingers can bend and, thus, the soft gripper can hold the objects, with the help of the dry adhesive layer. Finally, objects like a shuttlecock, tennis ball and a glass beaker, can be picked up by the soft gripper. This research may provide an insight for the design and fabrication of soft robotic manipulators. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:17:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-db78806c24f34806824ae571873a31e9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2313-7673 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:17:40Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biomimetics |
| spelling | doaj.art-db78806c24f34806824ae571873a31e92023-11-24T13:30:45ZengMDPI AGBiomimetics2313-76732022-10-017416710.3390/biomimetics7040167Soft Gripper with Electro-Thermally Driven Artificial Fingers Made of Tri-Layer Polymers and a Dry Adhesive SurfaceXiangmeng Li0Qiangshengjie Shi1Huifen Wei2Xiaodong Zhao3Zhe Tong4Xijing Zhu5 Shanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China Shanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China Shanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China Shanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China Shanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China Shanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, ChinaSoft grippers have attracted great interest in the soft robotics research field. Due to their lack of deformability and control over compliance, it can be challenging for them to pick up objects that are too large or too small in size. In particular, compliant objects are vulnerable to the large grasping force. Therefore, it is crucial to be able to adjust the stiffness of the gripper materials. In this study, a soft gripper consisting of three artificial fingers is reported on. Each of the artificial fingers is made of a tri-layer polymer structure. An exterior layer, made of an ecoflex–graphene composite is embedded with electric wires as a heating source, by applying direct-current potential. The Joule heat not only allows for deformation of the exterior layer, but also transfers heat to the middle layer of the thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) elastomer. As a result, the stiffness of the TPU layer can be adjusted using electro-thermal heating. Meanwhile, the third layer consists of a polydimethylsiloxane replica as a supporting layer with a gecko-inspired dry adhesive structure. By applying voltage through electric wires, the artificial fingers can bend and, thus, the soft gripper can hold the objects, with the help of the dry adhesive layer. Finally, objects like a shuttlecock, tennis ball and a glass beaker, can be picked up by the soft gripper. This research may provide an insight for the design and fabrication of soft robotic manipulators.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/7/4/167soft gripperartificial fingerecoflex–graphene compositethermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU)gecko-inspired dry adhesiveelectro-thermal bending |
| spellingShingle | Xiangmeng Li Qiangshengjie Shi Huifen Wei Xiaodong Zhao Zhe Tong Xijing Zhu Soft Gripper with Electro-Thermally Driven Artificial Fingers Made of Tri-Layer Polymers and a Dry Adhesive Surface Biomimetics soft gripper artificial finger ecoflex–graphene composite thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU) gecko-inspired dry adhesive electro-thermal bending |
| title | Soft Gripper with Electro-Thermally Driven Artificial Fingers Made of Tri-Layer Polymers and a Dry Adhesive Surface |
| title_full | Soft Gripper with Electro-Thermally Driven Artificial Fingers Made of Tri-Layer Polymers and a Dry Adhesive Surface |
| title_fullStr | Soft Gripper with Electro-Thermally Driven Artificial Fingers Made of Tri-Layer Polymers and a Dry Adhesive Surface |
| title_full_unstemmed | Soft Gripper with Electro-Thermally Driven Artificial Fingers Made of Tri-Layer Polymers and a Dry Adhesive Surface |
| title_short | Soft Gripper with Electro-Thermally Driven Artificial Fingers Made of Tri-Layer Polymers and a Dry Adhesive Surface |
| title_sort | soft gripper with electro thermally driven artificial fingers made of tri layer polymers and a dry adhesive surface |
| topic | soft gripper artificial finger ecoflex–graphene composite thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU) gecko-inspired dry adhesive electro-thermal bending |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/7/4/167 |
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