{"id":561001,"date":"2021-12-19T11:00:59","date_gmt":"2021-12-19T16:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/?p=561001"},"modified":"2021-12-17T15:13:39","modified_gmt":"2021-12-17T20:13:39","slug":"these-robotic-grippers-are-inspired-by-insects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/these-robotic-grippers-are-inspired-by-insects\/","title":{"rendered":"These robotic grippers are inspired by insects"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_561002\" style=\"width: 780px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-561002\" class=\"size-full wp-image-561002\" src=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/featured-web-robotic-grippers.jpg\" alt=\"A hexapod robot\" width=\"770\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/featured-web-robotic-grippers.jpg 770w, https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/featured-web-robotic-grippers-300x195.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/featured-web-robotic-grippers-150x97.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/featured-web-robotic-grippers-768x499.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/featured-web-robotic-grippers-368x238.jpg 368w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 770px) 100vw, 770px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-561002\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>A hexapod robot with fin-ray inspired grippers that have altered crossbeams.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p>Many soft robotic grippers are inspired by the way a fish\u2019s fin bends. They involve triangular components that bend inward, around an object to grip it. These components have transverse beams that sit at a 90\u00b0 angle, which help the gripper to bend around an object.<\/p>\n<p>These traditional grippers require a lot of force to pick up an object, and aren\u2019t always capable of handling delicate objects without crushing them. Researchers from five different universities, led by Poramante Manoonpong from Syddansk University in Odense, are taking their inspiration from the way insects walk and grip things to develop a different way to make robotic grippers.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of transverse beams sitting at a 90\u00b0 angle, the international research team in Odense put the beams at 10\u00b0 or 30\u00b0 angles, similar to insect attachment pads. By changing the angle of these beams, researchers found that their grippers were able to bend more around objects and pick them up using 20% less force.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 740px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('video');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-561001-1\" width=\"740\" height=\"416\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/VideoS3.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/VideoS3.mp4\">https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/VideoS3.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe know that many animals are able to [grip or attach themselves] to surfaces using compliant pads or feet,\u201d said Manoonpong. \u201cWe could see that the angle of insects\u2019 attachment pads was different. Previous work has already investigated changing the angle of the gripper, but none have conducted detailed investigation on the effect of different crossbeam angles inside its frame.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Using less force to pick up an object allows the gripper to handle more delicate items, like food items, without crushing them. When the researchers tested grippers with beams at 90\u00b0 or 120\u00b0, it took much more force for the gripper to pick up an item.<\/p>\n<p>The new grippers also improved the way that robots walk. When faced with uneven surfaces, like rocks, or round ones, like tubes to walk across, the robots were able to navigate the situation without complex control. The grippers resemble flippers, which can bend easily around the surface the robot walks across.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 740px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-561001-2\" width=\"740\" height=\"416\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/VideoS2.mp4?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/VideoS2.mp4\">https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/VideoS2.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<h2>Inspired by nature<\/h2>\n<p>Manoonpong\u2019s team of researchers were inspired by insect attachment pads, but they\u2019re not the only researchers looking to nature to make advancements in robotics.<\/p>\n<p>In December 2020, researchers at the University of Georgia College of Engineering <a href=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/how-pole-beans-inspired-this-soft-robotic-gripper\/\">developed<\/a> a robotic gripper inspired by beanpoles. These soft grippers require only one pneumatic control, which simplified the operation. The gripper also had a fiber optic sensor in the robot\u2019s elastic spine that can sense the item it\u2019s picking up and any external disturbances.<\/p>\n<p>In November 2020, researchers at UNSW Sydney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/soft-robotic-gripper-modeled-after-elephants-trunk\/\">created<\/a> a gripper inspired by an elephant\u2019s trunk. This soft fabric gripper was designed to handle heavy objects as well as fragile ones.<\/p>\n<p>The Odense team tested their gripper model using only soft grippers. Their next challenge is to make one strong enough to handle harsher environments.<\/p>\n<p>The Odense team\u2019s entire research can be found <a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/aisy.202100133\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A research team from five different universities developed robotic grippers inspired by insects that are able to handle delicate objects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":872,"featured_media":561002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rbr50_analysis":"","rbr50_state":"","rbr50_country":"","rbr50_description":"","rbr50_numemps":"","rbr50_text_taxonomy_radio":"","rbr50_text_taxonomy_select":"","rbr50_url":"","rbr50_yearfounded":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1753,1287,1284,1401,2160,2001],"tags":[3599,1128,3600,3601],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - 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