Design of compliant mechanisms using continuum topology optimization: A review

Multi-material three-dimensional (3D) printing has provided the possibility of direct 3D printing of soft actuators with high complexity and functionality in a fast and easy fabrication pr...

A Fully Multi-Material Three-Dimensional Printed Soft Gripper with Variable Stiffness for Robust Grasping.

Robotics has undergone a profound revolution in the past 50 years, moving from the laboratory and research institute to the factory and home. Kinematics and dynamics theories have been developed as the foundation for robot design and control, based on the conventional definition of robots: a kinematic chain of rigid links.

Design Optimization of Soft Robots: A Review of the State of the Art

This study presents the design of an underactuated, two-finger, motor-driven compliant gripper for grasping size-varied unknown objects. The gripper module consists of one main frame struc...

Optimal Design of a Soft Robotic Gripper for Grasping Unknown Objects.

This article presents a new cable-driven underactuated robotic gripper, called TWISTER Hand. It is designed for adaptable grasping of objects in different shapes, weights, sizes, and textures. Each finger of the gripper is made of a compliant and continuum mechanism inspired by an origami design. This design is converted into a computer-aided design (CAD) model and 3-D printed using flexible and rigid polymer composite materials. Two CAD modeling methods for this design are compared in terms of structural stiffness and durability in the printed outcomes. For each design, two soft materials are used for preliminary evaluation of the material effect in these properties. The best combination of the model and material is selected to fabricate the three fingers of the robotic gripper. Each finger has a single cable routed along the structure. All three cables are tied and actuated simultaneously using a single servo motor to generate closing and opening motions in the gripper. TWISTER Hand's adaptable grasping capability is tested using 36 different objects. The robot's grasping performance under object pose uncertainties is also experimentally tested and analyzed. This compact fully integrated gripper can be attached to a robotic arm for various manipulative tasks.

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TWISTER Hand: Underactuated Robotic Gripper Inspired by Origami Twisted Tower

This study presents an optimal design procedure, including topology and geometry optimization methods to design a compliant constant-force mechanism, which can generate a nearly constant output for...

Optimal Design of a Compliant Constant-Force Mechanism to Deliver a Nearly Constant Output Force Over a Range of Input Displacements.

An Evolutionary Soft-Add Topology Optimization Method for Synthesis of Compliant Mechanisms With Maximum Output Displacement

This study presents a topology optimization method to synthesize an innovative compliant finger for grasping objects with size and shape variations. The design domain of the compliant finger is a trapezoidal area with one input and two output ports. The topology optimized finger design is prototyped by three-dimensional (3D) printing using flexible filament, and be used in the developed gripper module, which consists of one actuator and two identical compliant fingers. Both fingers are actuated by one displacement input, and can grip objects through elastic deformation. The gripper module is mounted on an industrial robot to pick and place a variety of objects to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design. The results show that the developed compliant finger can be used to handle vulnerable objects without causing damage to the surface of grasped items. The proposed compliant finger is a monolithic and low-cost design, which can be used to resolve the challenge issue for robotic automation of irregular and vulnerable objects.

Ta Lun Chen

Papers

Optimal Design of a Soft Robotic Gripper for Grasping Unknown Objects.

Optimal Design of a Compliant Constant-Force Mechanism to Deliver a Nearly Constant Output Force Over a Range of Input Displacements.

An Evolutionary Soft-Add Topology Optimization Method for Synthesis of Compliant Mechanisms With Maximum Output Displacement

Topology Optimization and Prototype of a Three-Dimensional Printed Compliant Finger for Grasping Vulnerable Objects With Size and Shape Variations