Article
Materials Science, Textiles
Junqiang Su, Nan Wang, Fan Zhang
Summary: This article introduces a soft gripper with flexible fingers that are designed based on the observation of human hand actions in fabric grasping. The structural parameters are determined through force analysis and finite-element analysis, and the grippers with different parameters are tested using 3D printing. The results show high accuracy in layer-by-layer fabric separation and fabric positioning.
TEXTILE RESEARCH JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Chaiwuth Sithiwichankit, Ratchatin Chanchareon
Summary: This study presents a comprehensive approach for sensing object stiffness using pincer grasping of soft pneumatic grippers (SPGs). Inspired by the haptic sensing of human hands, the study aims to imitate object perception through grasping. The main challenge lies in the compliance of soft pneumatic actuators (SPA), which makes it difficult to determine the association between gripper performance and object reaction.
Article
Robotics
Yufei Hao, Shantonu Biswas, Elliot Wright Hawkes, Tianmiao Wang, Mengjia Zhu, Li Wen, Yon Visell
Summary: This research presents a fingerless soft gripper with a soft accordion-like structure and Gecko-like skin that can efficiently perform various grasping actions under manual control. Experiments show that the soft gripper is able to successfully grasp a wide variety of objects, with its performance aligning well with the theoretical model presented.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ROBOTICS
(2021)
Article
Robotics
Snehal Jain, Saikrishna Dontu, Joanne Ee Mei Teoh, Pablo Valdiva Y. Alvarado
Summary: This article introduces a reconfigurable workspace soft gripper that uses compliant structures and pneumatic actuators to adapt to various grasping tasks. Finite element analysis is used to design the actuators and materials, and the gripper's various grasping capabilities and workspace reconfiguration are demonstrated.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Sukho Song, Dirk-Michael Drotlef, Donghoon Son, Anastasia Koivikko, Metin Sitti
Summary: The authors proposed a suction-based soft robotic gripper that can self-seal when engaging with irregular shapes and textured surfaces, showing enhanced adhesion. The gripper's major advantages lie in its underactuated self-adaptability and improved suction performance.
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Zhiyuan He, Binbin Lian, Yimin Song
Summary: Inspired by human finger morphology, the paper proposes a rigid-soft coupled robotic gripper with underactuation. The gripper enables surface contact and provides flexible grasping and robust holding. Through mathematical modeling and simulations, the actuated mechanism, soft material selection, and rigid skeleton structure of the gripper are optimized. The fabricated gripper exhibits adaptability to objects with different properties and stable holding capabilities, validating the feasibility of the design procedure and the compliant grasping capabilities.
JOURNAL OF BIONIC ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Shibo Cai, Chun' E. Tang, Lufeng Pan, Guanjun Bao, Wenyu Bai, Qinghua Yang
Summary: Soft robotics offer promising solutions for grasping unstructured and fragile objects, with their flexibility and adaptability allowing grippers to naturally conform to various objects. Inspired by nature, the bionic design not only enhances gripping stability and reliability, but also enables the grasping of multiple objects in one snatch, particularly suitable for agricultural products and food processing.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Shoufeng Liu, Fujun Wang, Zhu Liu, Wei Zhang, Yanling Tian, Dawei Zhang
Summary: This article introduces a novel two-finger soft-robotic gripper with enveloping grasping and pinching grasping modes. Experimental results demonstrate that the gripper can reliably grasp objects of various shapes and sizes, especially small and fragile objects.
IEEE-ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS
(2021)
Article
Robotics
Dongbao Sui, Yanhe Zhu, Sikai Zhao, Tianshuo Wang, Sunil K. Agrawal, He Zhang, Jie Zhao
Summary: This article presents the design, fabrication, modeling, and preliminary tests of a bloodworm-inspired soft gripper for universal grasping. The gripper, based on a water snake wiggly toy, achieves a flexible and passive form-fitting grasp by imitating the behavior of a bloodworm. The experimental results demonstrate the gripper's good performance in handling a wide range of objects with different characteristics and its unique abilities in picking multiple objects and grasping powdered objects.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
David Herrero-Perez, Humberto Martinez-Barbera
Summary: This study presents the design and fabrication of an underwater soft gripper, utilizing soft robotics technology to address the limitations in versatility and robustness in underwater manipulation. The soft gripper is cost-effective, easily deployable, and capable of adapting to uncertain environmental conditions, with the ability to be rapidly redesigned for different applications. The feasibility and performance of the soft gripper are validated in a challenging underwater scenario using a subaquatic vehicle.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Venkatesa Prabu Dinakaran, Meenakshi Priya Balasubramaniyan, Suresh Muthusamy, Hitesh Panchal
Summary: Soft robotic gripper is an intensively investigated area of soft robotics, inspired by nature. It utilizes human anatomical fingers as grippers, while soft silicon grippers are constructed using hollow chambers controlled by varying pneumatic pressure. These grippers, made through casting, 3D printing, and molds, offer greater versatility in grasping complex geometries compared to rigid grippers. The soft robotic gripper demonstrates morphological computation, where mechanical compliance and soft materials reduce control complexity.
ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING SOFTWARE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
LingJie Gai, XiaoFeng Zong
Summary: In this work, a modular four-modal soft grasping device is proposed, which can stably grasp unstructured objects with multi-size and multi-shape. The device has multiple grasping modes and adopts a fully modular design, making it convenient to disassemble, assemble, and manufacture.
SCIENCE CHINA-TECHNOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Robotics
Bin Fang, Fuchun Sun, Linyuan Wu, Fukang Liu, Xiangxiang Wang, Haiming Huang, Wenbing Huang, Huaping Liu, Li Wen
Summary: This study proposes a soft gripper with multiple grasping modes, utilizing modular soft fingers to achieve various grasping methods, and validating their effectiveness through finite element simulations. The soft gripper features multimode grasping capability, employing different control modes to realize four anthropomorphic grasping modes.
Article
Robotics
Muhammad Aqib, Abid Imran, Khurram Khan, Muhammad Arsalan, Sajjad Manzoor, Kang Long, Byung-Ju Yi
Summary: This paper presents a multifunctional underactuated two fingered adaptive grippers for grasping a wide range of objects in different working scenarios. The proposed design combines a multijointed closed-chain mechanism and a multijointed double parallelogram mechanism to achieve various grasping techniques. A mathematical model is developed to analyze the stability of the gripper design, and simulations and experiments are conducted to validate its grasping capabilities.
JOURNAL OF FIELD ROBOTICS
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Xing Wang, Hanwen Kang, Hongyu Zhou, Wesley Au, Michael Yu Wang, Chao Chen
Summary: Due to labor shortages, fruit harvesting has faced challenges, especially during the rapid spread of the pandemic. Robotic harvesting has been attempted, but current robots show limited performance due to the inefficiency of their grippers. This research proposes a method using a novel soft robotic gripper and detachment strategy for apple harvesting in natural orchards. The gripper includes soft fingers and a multi-mode suction cup, providing suction adhesion force and passive compliance. The proposed method achieves a detachment rate of 75.6%, damage rate of 4.55%, and harvesting rate of 70.77% in a natural orchard.
COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS IN AGRICULTURE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Muhammad Hisyam Rosle, Zhongkui Wang, Shinichi Hirai
Article
Polymer Science
Masahiko Mitsuzuka, Yuho Kinbara, Mizuki Fukuhara, Maki Nakahara, Takashi Nakano, Jun Takarada, Zhongkui Wang, Yoshiki Mori, Masakazu Kageoka, Tsutomu Tawa, Sadao Kawamura, Yoshiro Tajitsu
Summary: The study found that the elasto-optical constant of polyurethanes is influenced by the concentration of diisocyanate groups and the anisotropy of the dielectric constant. Additionally, light scattering occurs when bending stress is generated in photoelastic polyurethanes. A highly sensitive tactile sensor for robot hands was developed using a polyurethane with high photoelasticity.
Article
Robotics
Zhongkui Wang, Takao Hirata, Takanori Sato, Tomoharu Mori, Masaru Kawakami, Hidemitsu Furukawa, Sadao Kawamura
Summary: Automation in the food services industry is less developed compared to automotive and electrical industries due to the complexity of tasks and lack of effective robotic end-effectors. A robotic hand capable of withdrawing and grasping dish plates from a pile was proposed and designed with bellows actuators for withdrawing and grasping mechanisms.
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
Masahiko Mitsuzuka, Jun Takarada, Ikuo Kawahara, Ryota Morimoto, Zhongkui Wang, Sadao Kawamura, Yoshiro Tajitsu
Summary: A tactile sensor for robot hands has been developed, which can measure normal and tangential forces using photoelasticity. The sensor utilizes light scattering phenomenon to detect forces.
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Masanari Kameoka, Yosuke Watanabe, M. D. Nahin Islam Shiblee, Masaru Kawakami, Jun Ogawa, Ajit Khosla, Hidemitsu Furukawa, Shengyang Zhang, Shinichi Hirai, Zhongkui Wang
Summary: In 4D printing, structures with gradient gels are 3D printed to efficiently increase deformation. A new method of creating gradient gels with different degrees of polymerization on the UV-exposed side and the other side using a single material is proposed. The mechanical properties and deformation effects of different material concentrations and structures are analyzed and simulated. The results suggest that deformation can be predicted to some extent by simulation, enabling the creation of complex structures in the future.
Proceedings Paper
Automation & Control Systems
Ryo Kanegae, Zhongkui Wang, Shinichi Hirai
2020 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON REAL-TIME COMPUTING AND ROBOTICS (IEEE-RCAR 2020)
(2020)
Proceedings Paper
Automation & Control Systems
Yui Makiyama, Zhongkui Wang, Shinichi Hirai
2020 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON REAL-TIME COMPUTING AND ROBOTICS (IEEE-RCAR 2020)
(2020)
Proceedings Paper
Automation & Control Systems
Takahiro Matsuno, Tatsuro Katsuma, Zhongkui Wang, Shinichi Hirai
2020 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON REAL-TIME COMPUTING AND ROBOTICS (IEEE-RCAR 2020)
(2020)
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Maryam Tebyani, Ash Robbins, William Asper, Sri Kurniawan, Mircea Teodorescu, Zhongkui Wang, Shinichi Hirai
2020 17TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON UBIQUITOUS ROBOTS (UR)
(2020)
Article
Robotics
Muhammad Hisyam Rosle, Ryo Kojima, Keung Or, Zhongkui Wang, Shinichi Hirai
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2020)
Proceedings Paper
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Yoshiyuki Kuriyama, Yuusuke Okino, Zhongkui Wang, Shinichi Hirai
2019 2ND IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOFT ROBOTICS (ROBOSOFT 2019)
(2019)
Proceedings Paper
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Yuki Mimori, Zhongkui Wang, Shinichi Hirai
2019 2ND IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOFT ROBOTICS (ROBOSOFT 2019)
(2019)
Proceedings Paper
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Ikumi Okada, Zhongkui Wang, Shinichi Hirai
2019 2ND IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOFT ROBOTICS (ROBOSOFT 2019)
(2019)
Article
Robotics
Takahiro Matsuno, Zhongkui Wang, Kaspar Althoefer, Shinichi Hirai
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2019)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Runwei Guan, Shanliang Yao, Lulu Liu, Xiaohui Zhu, Ka Lok Man, Yong Yue, Jeremy Smith, Eng Gee, Yutao Yue
Summary: With the development of Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs), the perception of inland waterways has become significant. Traditional RGB cameras cannot work effectively in adverse weather and at night, which has led to the emergence of 4D millimeter-wave radar as a new perception sensor. However, the radar suffers from water-surface clutter and irregular shape of point cloud. To address these issues, this paper proposes a high-performance panoptic perception model called Mask-VRDet, which fuses features of vision and radar using graph neural network.
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2024)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Adrien Le Reun, Kevin Subrin, Anthony Dubois, Sebastien Garnier
Summary: This study aims to evaluate the quality and health of aerospace parts using a high-dimensional robotic cell. By utilizing X-ray Computed Tomography devices, the interior of the parts can be reconstructed and anomalies can be detected. A methodology is proposed to assess both the raw process capability and the improved process capability, with three strategies developed to improve the robot behavior model and calibration.
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2024)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Weiming Ba, Jung-Che Chang, Jing Liu, Xi Wang, Xin Dong, Dragos Axinte
Summary: This paper proposes a hybrid scheme for kinematic control of continuum robots, which avoids errors through tension supervision and accurate piecewise linear approximation. The effectiveness of the controller is verified on different continuum robotic systems.
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2024)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Gabriele Abbate, Alessandro Giusti, Viktor Schmuck, Oya Celiktutan, Antonio Paolillo
Summary: In this study, a learning-based approach is proposed to predict the probability of human users interacting with a robot before the interaction begins. By considering the pose and motion of the user, the approach labels the robot's encounters with humans in a self-supervised manner. The method is validated and deployed in various scenarios, achieving high accuracy in predicting user intentions to interact with the robot.
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2024)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Tiago Cortinhal, Eren Erdal Aksoy
Summary: This work presents a new depth-and semantics-aware conditional generative model, named TITAN-Next, for cross-domain image-to-image translation between LiDAR and camera sensors. The model is able to translate raw LiDAR point clouds to RGB-D camera images by solely relying on semantic scene segments, and it has practical applications in fields like autonomous vehicles.
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2024)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Marios Krestenitis, Emmanuel K. Raptis, Athanasios Ch. Kapoutsis, Konstantinos Ioannidis, Elias B. Kosmatopoulos, Stefanos Vrochidis
Summary: This paper addresses the issue of informative path planning for a UAV used in precision agriculture. By using a non-uniform scanning approach, the time spent in areas with minimal value is reduced, while maintaining high precision in information-dense regions. A novel active sensing and deep learning-based coverage path planning approach is proposed, which adjusts the UAV's speed based on the quantity and confidence level of identified plant classes.
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2024)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Shota Kokubu, Pablo E. Tortos Vinocour, Wenwei Yu
Summary: In this study, a new modular soft actuator was proposed to improve the support performance of soft rehabilitation gloves (SRGs). Objective evaluations and clinical tests were conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness and functionality of the proposed actuator and SRG.
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2024)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Jinliang Zhu, Yuanxi Sun, Jie Xiong, Yiyang Liu, Jia Zheng, Long Bai
Summary: This paper proposes an active prosthetic knee joint with a variable stiffness parallel elastic actuation mechanism. Numerical verifications and practical experiments demonstrate that the mechanism can reduce torque and power, thus reducing energy consumption and improving the endurance of the prosthetic knee joint.
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2024)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Yong You, Jingtao Wu, Yunlong Meng, Dongye Sun, Datong Qin
Summary: A new power-cycling variable transmission (PCVT) is proposed and applied to construction vehicles to improve transmission efficiency. A shift correction strategy is developed based on identifying the changes in construction vehicles' mass and gradient. Simulation results show that the proposed method can correct shift points, improve operation efficiency, and ensure a safer operation process.
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2024)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Shaorui Liu, Wei Tian, Jianxin Shen, Bo Li, Pengcheng Li
Summary: This paper proposes a two-objective optimization technique for multi-robot systems, addressing the issue of balancing productivity and machining performance in high-quality machining tasks.
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2024)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Pengchao Ding, Faben Zhu, Hongbiao Zhu, Gongcheng Wang, Hua Bai, Han Wang, Dongmei Wu, Zhijiang Du, Weidong Wang
Summary: We propose an autonomous approaching scheme for mobile robot traversing obstacle stairwells, which overcomes the restricted field of vision caused by obstacles. The scheme includes stair localization, structural parameter estimation, and optimization of the approaching process.
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2024)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Pedro Azevedo, Vitor Santos
Summary: Accurate detection and tracking of vulnerable road users and traffic objects are vital tasks for autonomous driving and driving assistance systems. This paper proposes a solution for object detection and tracking in an autonomous driving scenario, comparing different object detectors and exploring the deployment on edge devices. The effectiveness of DeepStream technology and different object trackers is assessed using the KITTI tracking dataset.
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2024)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Benjamin Beiter, Divya Srinivasan, Alexander Leonessa
Summary: Powered exoskeletons can significantly reduce physical workload and have great potential impact on future labor practices. To truly assist users in achieving task goals, a shared autonomy control framework is proposed to separate the control objectives of the human and exoskeleton. Positive Power control is introduced for the human-based controller, while 'acceptance' is used as a measure of matching the exoskeleton's control objective to the human's. Both control objectives are implemented in an optimization-based Whole-Body-Control structure. The results verify the effectiveness of the control framework and its potential for improving cooperative control for powered exoskeletons.
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2024)
