Development of Robotic Hand with Novel Soft 3D Printed Actuators
Disciplines
Engineering
Abstract (300 words maximum)
In the biomedical field, robotics is used to emulate the movement and dexterity of human hands for many purposes such as prosthetics. However, traditional rigid-body robotic hands tend to be heavy and inflexible, which causes difficulty in manipulating irregularly shaped objects. Soft robotics hands address these problems by being more adaptable, lightweight, and safer. However, most soft robotic hands tend to be fragile, inefficient, and weak. Although, soft actuators have immense potential to improve their dexterity, control, the force produced, and versatility. This project offers a solution to this issue by developing a 3D-printed robotic hand using modern soft robotics methods and novel actuators. The soft actuator consists of three components: layers moved by an electromotor; spacers between these layers; and soft skin encasing the moving layers. The bending of the moving layers will cause a sheer force that is the actuator’s force output. The spacers and the soft skin ensure that the moving layers remain the same distance apart during motion. Initial prototyping involved improving the efficiency of the design by 3D printing models and measuring the bending angle and force output. Preliminary results showed that the actuator can bend up to 180 degrees and can produce the force necessary to grasp small objects. This novel method of actuation is efficient, robust, and can have many practical applications in industry. Future research goals will involve developing control methods that allow the robotic hand to complete various motions.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
SPCEET - Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Amir Ali Amiri Moghadam
Development of Robotic Hand with Novel Soft 3D Printed Actuators
In the biomedical field, robotics is used to emulate the movement and dexterity of human hands for many purposes such as prosthetics. However, traditional rigid-body robotic hands tend to be heavy and inflexible, which causes difficulty in manipulating irregularly shaped objects. Soft robotics hands address these problems by being more adaptable, lightweight, and safer. However, most soft robotic hands tend to be fragile, inefficient, and weak. Although, soft actuators have immense potential to improve their dexterity, control, the force produced, and versatility. This project offers a solution to this issue by developing a 3D-printed robotic hand using modern soft robotics methods and novel actuators. The soft actuator consists of three components: layers moved by an electromotor; spacers between these layers; and soft skin encasing the moving layers. The bending of the moving layers will cause a sheer force that is the actuator’s force output. The spacers and the soft skin ensure that the moving layers remain the same distance apart during motion. Initial prototyping involved improving the efficiency of the design by 3D printing models and measuring the bending angle and force output. Preliminary results showed that the actuator can bend up to 180 degrees and can produce the force necessary to grasp small objects. This novel method of actuation is efficient, robust, and can have many practical applications in industry. Future research goals will involve developing control methods that allow the robotic hand to complete various motions.