Multi-Tentacle Soft Gripper Control for Fast Dexterous Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional soft robotic grippers face challenges such as being too heavy, lacking durability, slow gripping performance, limited controllability, and high maintenance requirements, which restrict their applications and ability to perform dexterous manipulation with precise control and feedback.
Innovation Solution
A centralized controller for a multi-tentacle gripper system that enables independent and versatile controlled actions, reducing processing time and computational costs, allowing for quick identification of object shape and pose, and generation of coordinated sequential control commands to move objects efficiently and safely.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If conventional pneumatic grippers are used, then gripping force is achieved, but the gripper becomes too heavy and loses controllability
Solution Approach 1:
The gripper is divided into multiple independent soft fingers (tentacles) that can be controlled separately. Each finger contains its own actuators and sensors, allowing distributed control that reduces overall system weight while maintaining gripping force through coordinated action of multiple segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from rigid pneumatic cylinders to soft compliant materials with variable stiffness. By changing the material parameters and structural compliance, the gripper achieves gripping force through distributed soft actuation rather than heavy rigid components, enabling weight reduction while maintaining control capability.
2Force
If conventional hydraulic grippers are used, then gripping force is achieved, but the operation speed becomes slow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses pneumatic actuators integrated within soft finger structures instead of external hydraulic systems. The pneumatic chambers are distributed throughout the soft fingers, enabling rapid actuation response and fast operation speed while maintaining sufficient gripping force through the compliance and surface area of the soft material.
3Ease of operation
If conventional electromagnetic motor grippers are used, then precise control is achieved, but the take-in time becomes very slow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional electromagnetic motors with gear trains with soft pneumatic actuators and compliant mechanisms. The soft fingers utilize pneumatic pressure changes to generate motion directly, eliminating the need for complex mechanical transmissions. This substitution maintains control precision through sensor feedback while dramatically reducing take-in time by removing mechanical inertia and friction from gear systems.
4Adaptability or versatility
If conventional soft grippers are used, then dexterous manipulation capability is improved, but processing time and computational cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a centralized controller that pre-processes and categorizes object geometries using stored geometric models. By performing preliminary classification of object shapes and pre-computing appropriate grasping strategies, the system reduces real-time processing requirements. This allows dexterous manipulation of varied objects while minimizing computational time and cost during actual operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A gripper system having tentacles including a control system configured to receive operator data and sensor data. Compare stored object configurations associated with grips to identify a corresponding set of object configurations using a target object shape and a pose via sensor data and select an object configuration. Compare stored commands to identify sets of commands corresponding to the object configuration and select sets of commands. If a set of pickup actions are received, compare to the corresponding object configuration to identify a set of pickup actions using the received set of pickup actions, and select a set of pickup actions. Compare the sets of commands to identify a corresponding first set of commands corresponding to a set of pickup actions using the set of pickup actions and select the first set of commands. If the received set of pickup actions are absent, then select a second set of commands.