Soft robotic hand with finger-bending/friction-reduction switching mechanism through 1-degree-of-freedom flow control

TL;DR

This paper introduces a soft robotic hand with a novel airflow switching mechanism that controls finger motion and surface friction using a single airflow source, validated through grasping and manipulation tests.

Contribution

It presents a new pneumatic soft robotic hand with integrated airflow path switching and friction control mechanisms using flow control and Venturi effect.

Findings

Successful finger motion control and friction reduction demonstrated

Effective grasping, placing, and manipulation achieved

Single airflow control simplifies soft robotic hand design

Abstract

This paper proposes a novel pneumatic soft robotic hand that incorporates a mechanism that can switch the airflow path using a single airflow control. The developed hand can control the finger motion and operate the surface friction variable mechanism. In the friction variable mechanism, a lubricant is injected onto the high-friction finger surface to reduce surface friction. To inject the lubrication using a positive-pressure airflow, the Venturi effect is applied. The design and evaluation of the airflow-path switching and friction variable mechanisms are described. Moreover, the entire design of a soft robotic hand equipped with these mechanisms is presented. The performance was validated through grasping, placing, and manipulation tests.