Design and Experimental Assessment of 3D-Printed Soft Grasping Interfaces for Robotic Harvesting
Robotic harvesters and grippers have been widely developed for fruit-picking tasks. However, existing approaches often fail to account for the fruit’s post-harvest condition, leading to premature decay due to excessive grasping forces. This study addresses this gap by designing and evaluating passiv...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/4/804 |
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| author | Kai Blanco Eduardo Navas Daniel Rodríguez-Nieto Luis Emmi Roemi Fernández |
| author_facet | Kai Blanco Eduardo Navas Daniel Rodríguez-Nieto Luis Emmi Roemi Fernández |
| author_sort | Kai Blanco |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Robotic harvesters and grippers have been widely developed for fruit-picking tasks. However, existing approaches often fail to account for the fruit’s post-harvest condition, leading to premature decay due to excessive grasping forces. This study addresses this gap by designing and evaluating passive soft grasping interfaces for rigid robotic grippers, aiming to handle delicate fruits and vegetables while minimizing bruising. Using hyperelastic materials and 3D printing, four different interface designs, including Gyroid, Grid, Cubic, and Cross 3D patterns, were developed and tested. Experimental evaluations assessed surface adaptability, grasping force distribution, and post-harvest bruising effects. Results indicate that collapsible interface patterns greatly reduce grasping forces and offer lower bruising severity when compared to traditional rigid grippers. These findings suggest that hybrid soft-rigid grasping strategies offer a promising solution for improving fruit-handling efficiency in autonomous harvesting and pick-and-place operations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-afb2c64a285a403683bfbf13fdd185ea |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj-art-afb2c64a285a403683bfbf13fdd185ea2025-08-20T03:14:17ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952025-03-0115480410.3390/agronomy15040804Design and Experimental Assessment of 3D-Printed Soft Grasping Interfaces for Robotic HarvestingKai Blanco0Eduardo Navas1Daniel Rodríguez-Nieto2Luis Emmi3Roemi Fernández4Centre for Automation and Robotics, CSIC-UPM (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Politécnica de Madrid), Carretera Campo Real Km 0.2, Arganda del Rey, 28500 Madrid, SpainCentre for Automation and Robotics, CSIC-UPM (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Politécnica de Madrid), Carretera Campo Real Km 0.2, Arganda del Rey, 28500 Madrid, SpainCentre for Automation and Robotics, CSIC-UPM (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Politécnica de Madrid), Carretera Campo Real Km 0.2, Arganda del Rey, 28500 Madrid, SpainCentre for Automation and Robotics, CSIC-UPM (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Politécnica de Madrid), Carretera Campo Real Km 0.2, Arganda del Rey, 28500 Madrid, SpainCentre for Automation and Robotics, CSIC-UPM (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Politécnica de Madrid), Carretera Campo Real Km 0.2, Arganda del Rey, 28500 Madrid, SpainRobotic harvesters and grippers have been widely developed for fruit-picking tasks. However, existing approaches often fail to account for the fruit’s post-harvest condition, leading to premature decay due to excessive grasping forces. This study addresses this gap by designing and evaluating passive soft grasping interfaces for rigid robotic grippers, aiming to handle delicate fruits and vegetables while minimizing bruising. Using hyperelastic materials and 3D printing, four different interface designs, including Gyroid, Grid, Cubic, and Cross 3D patterns, were developed and tested. Experimental evaluations assessed surface adaptability, grasping force distribution, and post-harvest bruising effects. Results indicate that collapsible interface patterns greatly reduce grasping forces and offer lower bruising severity when compared to traditional rigid grippers. These findings suggest that hybrid soft-rigid grasping strategies offer a promising solution for improving fruit-handling efficiency in autonomous harvesting and pick-and-place operations.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/4/804automatic harvesting3D printingsoft grasping interfacesroboticscrop damage |
| spellingShingle | Kai Blanco Eduardo Navas Daniel Rodríguez-Nieto Luis Emmi Roemi Fernández Design and Experimental Assessment of 3D-Printed Soft Grasping Interfaces for Robotic Harvesting Agronomy automatic harvesting 3D printing soft grasping interfaces robotics crop damage |
| title | Design and Experimental Assessment of 3D-Printed Soft Grasping Interfaces for Robotic Harvesting |
| title_full | Design and Experimental Assessment of 3D-Printed Soft Grasping Interfaces for Robotic Harvesting |
| title_fullStr | Design and Experimental Assessment of 3D-Printed Soft Grasping Interfaces for Robotic Harvesting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Design and Experimental Assessment of 3D-Printed Soft Grasping Interfaces for Robotic Harvesting |
| title_short | Design and Experimental Assessment of 3D-Printed Soft Grasping Interfaces for Robotic Harvesting |
| title_sort | design and experimental assessment of 3d printed soft grasping interfaces for robotic harvesting |
| topic | automatic harvesting 3D printing soft grasping interfaces robotics crop damage |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/4/804 |
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