3D Printed Soft Robot Gripper with Closed-Loop Control

Abstract: This project aims to build up a soft robotic gripper that mimics human hands and design a closedloop control system. A soft gripper model is established with Finite Element Method (FEM) to describe the relation between air pressure input and gripper deformation. The best soft gripper dimensions are selected according to the FEM model and the gripper is then fabricated with Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D printing method. Closed-loop angle control before the soft gripper touches the object is used to ensure a precise grasp. A camera sensor is used for the acquisition of the bending angle and a pressure regulator is applied to supply the air pressure. A closed-loop experiment platform is built based on a proportional-integral (PI) controller to realize the precise deformation control of the soft gripper. Finally, the grasp of some soft or brittle objects using the soft gripper is performed as a demonstration.