Development of Antagonistic Soft Gripper with Inherent PLA Spring Element for Improved Stability

One of the major tasks of robots is gripping, and demand for grippers which can grasp a variety of products is increasing in the food packaging and manufacturing industry. To grasp products or human bodies with parts of many sizes and shapes, betterment of manipulators is required. Soft grippers are one solution because flexibility and adaptability are especially necessary. In this study, we make a novel soft gripper driven by a wire by covering the entire structure including an antagonistic mechanism which unites an endoskeleton with a soft structure, then examine its functionality. The aim of this study is to check whether the gripper finger mechanism can be applied to the gripper properly. Consequently, integrating an antagonistic mechanism with soft gripper reduces the force required to bend it, decreases the radius of curvature and increases the griping force. Also, concerning design improvements of silicone parts, the force needed to operate finger mechanism is decreased and the radius of curvature is lowered, meanwhile the grip force reduced.