TacFR-Gripper: A Reconfigurable Fin-Ray-Based Gripper with Tactile Skin for In-Hand Manipulation
This paper introduces the TacFR-Gripper, a novel reconfigurable soft robotic gripper inspired by the Fin-Ray effect and equipped with tactile skin. The gripper incorporates a four-bar mechanism for accurate finger bending and a reconfigurable design to change the relative positions between the finge...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Actuators |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/13/12/521 |
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| _version_ | 1850240205115621376 |
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| author | Qingzheng Cong Wen Fan Dandan Zhang |
| author_facet | Qingzheng Cong Wen Fan Dandan Zhang |
| author_sort | Qingzheng Cong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper introduces the TacFR-Gripper, a novel reconfigurable soft robotic gripper inspired by the Fin-Ray effect and equipped with tactile skin. The gripper incorporates a four-bar mechanism for accurate finger bending and a reconfigurable design to change the relative positions between the fingers and palm, enabling precise and adaptable object grasping. This 5-Degree-of-Freedom (DOF) soft gripper can facilitate dexterous manipulation of objects with diverse shapes and stiffness and is beneficial to the safe and efficient grasping of delicate objects. An array of Force Sensitive Resistor (FSR) sensors is embedded within each robotic fingertip to serve as the tactile skin, enabling the robot to perceive contact information during manipulation. Moreover, we implemented a threshold-based tactile perception approach to enable reliable grasping without accidental slip or excessive force. To verify the effectiveness of the TacFR-Gripper, we provide detailed workspace analysis to evaluate its grasping performance and conducted three experiments, including (i) assessing the grasp success rate across various everyday objects through different finger configurations, (ii) verifying the effectiveness of tactile skin with different control strategies in grasping, and (iii) evaluating the in-hand manipulation capabilities through object pose control. The experimental results indicate that the TacFR-Gripper can grasp a wide range of complex-shaped objects with a high success rate and deliver dexterous in-hand manipulation. Additionally, the integration of tactile skin is demonstrated to enhance grasp stability by incorporating tactile feedback during manipulations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3d5a5546aaab4aee9affacccbc11e7d4 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2076-0825 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Actuators |
| spelling | doaj-art-3d5a5546aaab4aee9affacccbc11e7d42025-08-20T02:00:55ZengMDPI AGActuators2076-08252024-12-01131252110.3390/act13120521TacFR-Gripper: A Reconfigurable Fin-Ray-Based Gripper with Tactile Skin for In-Hand ManipulationQingzheng Cong0Wen Fan1Dandan Zhang2Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, and the I-X Initiative, London SW7 2BX, UKDepartment of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, and the I-X Initiative, London SW7 2BX, UKDepartment of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, and the I-X Initiative, London SW7 2BX, UKThis paper introduces the TacFR-Gripper, a novel reconfigurable soft robotic gripper inspired by the Fin-Ray effect and equipped with tactile skin. The gripper incorporates a four-bar mechanism for accurate finger bending and a reconfigurable design to change the relative positions between the fingers and palm, enabling precise and adaptable object grasping. This 5-Degree-of-Freedom (DOF) soft gripper can facilitate dexterous manipulation of objects with diverse shapes and stiffness and is beneficial to the safe and efficient grasping of delicate objects. An array of Force Sensitive Resistor (FSR) sensors is embedded within each robotic fingertip to serve as the tactile skin, enabling the robot to perceive contact information during manipulation. Moreover, we implemented a threshold-based tactile perception approach to enable reliable grasping without accidental slip or excessive force. To verify the effectiveness of the TacFR-Gripper, we provide detailed workspace analysis to evaluate its grasping performance and conducted three experiments, including (i) assessing the grasp success rate across various everyday objects through different finger configurations, (ii) verifying the effectiveness of tactile skin with different control strategies in grasping, and (iii) evaluating the in-hand manipulation capabilities through object pose control. The experimental results indicate that the TacFR-Gripper can grasp a wide range of complex-shaped objects with a high success rate and deliver dexterous in-hand manipulation. Additionally, the integration of tactile skin is demonstrated to enhance grasp stability by incorporating tactile feedback during manipulations.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/13/12/521in-hand manipulationtactile perceptionsoft robotic hand |
| spellingShingle | Qingzheng Cong Wen Fan Dandan Zhang TacFR-Gripper: A Reconfigurable Fin-Ray-Based Gripper with Tactile Skin for In-Hand Manipulation Actuators in-hand manipulation tactile perception soft robotic hand |
| title | TacFR-Gripper: A Reconfigurable Fin-Ray-Based Gripper with Tactile Skin for In-Hand Manipulation |
| title_full | TacFR-Gripper: A Reconfigurable Fin-Ray-Based Gripper with Tactile Skin for In-Hand Manipulation |
| title_fullStr | TacFR-Gripper: A Reconfigurable Fin-Ray-Based Gripper with Tactile Skin for In-Hand Manipulation |
| title_full_unstemmed | TacFR-Gripper: A Reconfigurable Fin-Ray-Based Gripper with Tactile Skin for In-Hand Manipulation |
| title_short | TacFR-Gripper: A Reconfigurable Fin-Ray-Based Gripper with Tactile Skin for In-Hand Manipulation |
| title_sort | tacfr gripper a reconfigurable fin ray based gripper with tactile skin for in hand manipulation |
| topic | in-hand manipulation tactile perception soft robotic hand |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/13/12/521 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT qingzhengcong tacfrgripperareconfigurablefinraybasedgripperwithtactileskinforinhandmanipulation AT wenfan tacfrgripperareconfigurablefinraybasedgripperwithtactileskinforinhandmanipulation AT dandanzhang tacfrgripperareconfigurablefinraybasedgripperwithtactileskinforinhandmanipulation |