Actuation Technologies for Soft Robot Grippers and Manipulators: A Review

Shintake J, Cacucciolo V, Floreano D, Shea H. Soft robotic grippers. Adv Mater. 2018;30. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201707035. Samadikhoshkho Z, Zareinia K, Janabi-Sharifi F. A brief review on robotic grippers classifications. 2019 IEEE Can Conf Electr Comput Eng CCECE 2019;2019:10–13 Hughes J, Culha U, Giardina F, Guenther F, Rosendo A, Iida F. Soft manipulators and grippers: a review. Front Robot AI. 2016;3:1–12. Miron G, Bédard B, Plante JS. Sleeved bending actuators for soft grippers: a durable solution for high force-to-weight applications. High-Throughput. 2018;7. https://doi.org/10.3390/act7030040. • Lee JY, Eom J, Yu SY, Cho K. Customization methodology for conformable grasping posture of soft grippers by stiffness patterning. Front Robot AI. 2020;7:1–15 This paper is important in the sense that a unique approach has been implemented to customize the gripper to grasp single dedicated objects. Stiffness patterns have been added in the constraint layer of the gripper such that the contact forces have been lowered while the lifting forces have been enhanced as compared to the non-customized gripper. Nguyen AK, Russell A, Naclerio N, Vuong V, Huang H, Chui K, Hawkes EW. A tri-stable soft robotic finger capable of pinch and wrap grasps. Proc - IEEE Int Conf Robot Autom 2020;9028–9034 Kim Y, Cha Y. Soft pneumatic gripper with a tendon-driven soft origami pump. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2020;8:1–11. Ariyanto M, Munadi M, Setiawan JD, Mulyanto D, Nugroho T (2019) Three-fingered soft robotic gripper based on pneumatic network actuator. 2019 6th Int Conf Inf Technol Comput Electr Eng ICITACEE 2019. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICITACEE.2019.8904145 Park W, Seo S, Bae J. A hybrid gripper with soft material and rigid structures. IEEE Robot Autom Lett. 2019;4:65–72. Meng J, Gerez L, Chapman J, Liarokapis M. A tendon-driven, preloaded, pneumatically actuated, soft robotic gripper with a telescopic palm. 2020 3rd IEEE Int Conf Soft Robot RoboSoft 2020;2020:476–481 Hisatomi R, Kanno T, Miyazaki T, Kawase T, Kawashima K. Development of forceps manipulator using pneumatic soft actuator for a bending joint of forceps Tip. Proc 2019 IEEE/SICE Int Symp Syst Integr SII 2019;2019:695–700 • Luo C, Wang K, Li G, Yin S, Yu L, Yang E. Development of active soft robotic manipulators for stable grasping under slippery conditions. IEEE Access. 2019;7:97604–13 The importance of this paper lies in the fact that a manipulator has been designed such that it can work in slippery conditions efficiently. The friction has been introduced in the design through the use of nano-film array. The results achieved regarding the operation in wet conditions were very satisfactory. Venter D, Dirven S. Self morphing soft-robotic gripper for handling and manipulation of delicate produce in horticultural applications. 2017 24th Int Conf Mechatronics Mach Vis Pract M2VIP 2017 2017-Decem:1–6. 2017. De Falco I, Cianchetti M, Menciassi A. A soft multi-module manipulator with variable stiffness for minimally invasive surgery. Bioinspir Biomim. 2017;12:aa7ccd. Tawk C, Gao Y, Mutlu R, Alici G. Fully 3D printed monolithic soft gripper with high conformal grasping capability. IEEE/ASME Int Conf Adv Intell Mechatronics, AIM 2019-July:1139–1144. 2019. Jain S, Stalin T, Subramaniam V, Agarwal J, Y Alvarado PV (2020) A soft gripper with retractable nails for advanced grasping and manipulation. Proc - IEEE Int Conf Robot Autom 6928–6934 •• Tawk C, Spinks GM, In Het Panhuis M, Alici G. 3D printable linear soft vacuum actuators: their modeling, performance quantification and application in soft robotic systems. IEEE/ASME Trans Mechatron. 2019;24:2118–29 A unique kind of 3D printed actuators called LSOVA have been presented in this work which offer multiple benefits including scalability, large output forces, and bandwidth. The applications of this kind of actuators are extensive including soft grippers, prosthetics, and soft artificial muscles. These features highlight the importance of this work. Katugampala SD, Arachchi KMS, Asanka S, Arumathanthri RB, Kulasekera AL, Jayaweera ND. Design and characterization of a novel vacuum bending actuator and a bimorph: for preliminary use in a continuum robot arm. Proc IEEE 2019 9th Int Conf Cybern Intell Syst Robot Autom Mechatronics, CIS RAM 2019 263–268. 2019. •• Fatahillah M, Oh N, Rodrigue H. A novel soft bending actuator using combined positive and negative pressures. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2020;8:1–10 This work is of prime importance owing to the fact that both positive and negative pressures (PNP) have been combined in a single actuator which is a unique ability for the gripper. The PNP actuators have multiple benefits including high blocked forces, bending forces, and lifting forces. Bamotra A, Walia P, Prituja AV, Ren H. Fabrication and characterization of novel soft compliant robotic end-effectors with negative pressure and mechanical advantages. ICARM 2018 - 2018 3rd Int Conf Adv Robot Mechatronics 2019;369–374 Z.Xiang, L.Hongwei, D.Bingxiao CL. Design and experimental validation of a cable-driven continuum manipulator and soft gripper. 2019;2446–2451 Yan J, Shi P, Xu Z, Zhao J.Design and kinematics of cable-driven soft module coupled with spring. IEEE Int Conf Robot Biomimetics, ROBIO 2019;2019:2195–2200 Honji S, Tahara K. Dynamic modeling and joint design of a cable driven soft gripper. 2020 3rd IEEE Int Conf Soft Robot RoboSoft 2020;2020:593–598 Chen S, Pang Y, Yuan H, Tan X, Cao C. Smart soft actuators and grippers enabled by self-powered tribo-skins. Adv Mater Technol. 2020;5:1–10. Lee K, Wang Y, Zheng C. TWISTER Hand: underactuated robotic gripper inspired by origami twisted tower. IEEE Trans Robot. 2020;36:488–500. Chen F, Xu W, Zhang H, Wang Y, Cao J, Wang MY, et al. Topology optimized design, fabrication, and characterization of a soft cable-driven gripper. IEEE Robot Autom Lett. 2018;3:2463–70. Jiang F, Zhang H, Zhao J (2016) Kinematics and statics for soft continuum manipulators with heterogeneous soft materials. ASME 2016 Dyn Syst Control Conf DSCC 2016. https://doi.org/10.1115/DSCC2016-9909 Wang H, Zhang R, Chen W, Wang X, Pfeifer R. A cable-driven soft robot surgical system for cardiothoracic endoscopic surgery: preclinical tests in animals. Surg Endosc. 2017;31:3152–8. R.Zhang, H.Wang WC. Motion analysis and experimental study of a cable-driven soft surgical robot. 2015. pp 2085–2090 Roels E, Terryn S, Brancart J, Van Assche G, Vanderborght B. A multi-material self-healing soft gripper. RoboSoft 2019 - 2019 IEEE Int Conf Soft Robot 2019;316–321 Liu M, Hao L, Zhang W, Zhao Z. A novel design of shape-memory alloy-based soft robotic gripper with variable stiffness. Int J Adv Robot Syst. 2020;17:1–12. Yin J, Hellebrekers T, Majidi C. Closing the loop with liquid-metal sensing skin for autonomous soft robot gripping. 2020 3rd IEEE Int Conf Soft Robot RoboSoft 2020;2020;661–667 Hellebrekers T, Ozutemiz KB, Yin J, Majidi C. Liquid metal-microelectronics integration for a sensorized soft robot skin. IEEE Int Conf Intell Robot Syst 2018;5924–5929 Hadi A, Akbari H, Tarvirdizadeh B, Alipour K. Developing a novel continuum module actuated by shape memory alloys. Sensors Actuators A Phys. 2016;243:90–102. Golgouneh A, Holschuh B, Dunne L. A controllable biomimetic SMA-actuated robotic arm. Proc IEEE RAS EMBS Int Conf Biomed Robot Biomechatronics 2020;2020-Novem:152–157 Yin H, Zhang X, Li J, Cao J. Grasping model and experiment of a soft robot gripper with variable stiffness. 2017 IEEE Int Conf Cybern Intell Syst CIS 2017 IEEE Conf Robot Autom Mechatronics, RAM 2017 - Proc 2018-Janua:134–139. 2017. Obaji M, Zhang S. Investigation into the force distribution mechanism of a soft robot gripper modeled for picking complex objects using embedded shape memory alloy actuators. 6th IEEE Conf. Robot. Autom. Mechatronics. 2013. Xu L, Gu G. Bioinspired Venus flytrap: a dielectric elastomer actuated soft gripper. 2017 24th Int Conf Mechatronics Mach Vis Pract M2VIP 2017;2017:2017-Decem:1–3 Wang YZ, Gupta U, Parulekar N, Zhu J. A soft gripper of fast speed and low energy consumption. Sci China Technol Sci. 2019;62:31–8. Hwang G, Park J, Cortes DSD, Kyung KU. Mechanically strengthened electroadhesion based soft gripper with multi-layered dielectric elastomer actuator. 2020 3rd IEEE Int Conf Soft Robot RoboSoft 2020;2020:748–753 Shintake J, Schubert B, Rosset S, Shea H, Floreano D.Variable stiffness actuator for soft robotics using dielectric elastomer and low-melting-point alloy. IEEE Int Conf Intell Robot Syst 2015;2015-Decem:1097–1102 Zhou F, Zhang M, Cao X, Zhang Z, Chen X, Xiao Y, et al. Fabrication and modeling of dielectric elastomer soft actuator with 3D printed thermoplastic frame. Sensors Actuators A Phys. 2019;292:112–20. Guo J, Xiang C, Rossiter J. A soft and shape-adaptive electroadhesive composite gripper with proprioceptive and exteroceptive capabilities. Mater Des. 2018;156:586–7. •• Guo J, Elgeneidy K, Xiang C, Lohse N, Justham L, Rossiter J. Soft pneumatic grippers embedded with stretchable electroadhesion. Smart Mater Struct. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665X/aab579In this work, the authors have combined the features of two different kinds of actuations which as a result has enhanced the overall efficiency of the gripper. The pneumatic actuation faces the challenge of picking thin objects from flat surfaces, whereas through electro-adhesion, complex shapes cannot be handled. Therefore, due to PneuEA gripper, both the flat and complex shaped objects can be handled. The importance of this paper lies in the combination of two technologies to develop an efficient gripper. Alizadehyazdi V, Bonthron M, Spenko M. An electrostatic/gecko-inspired adhesives soft robotic gripper. IEEE Robot Autom Lett. 2020;5:4679–86. Chen R, Song R, Zhang Z, Bai L, Liu F, Jiang P, et al. Bio-inspired shape-adaptive soft robotic grippers augmented with electroadhesion functionality. Soft Robot. 2019;6:701–12. Xiang C, Guo J, Rossiter J. ContinuumEA: a soft continuum electroadhesive manipulator. 2018 IEEE Int Conf Robot Biomimetics, ROBIO 2018;2018:2473–2478 Chin L, Barscevicius F, Lipton J, Rus D. Multiplexed manipulation: versatile multimodal grasping via a hybrid soft gripper. Proc - IEEE Int Conf Robot Autom 2020;8949–8955 Yang Y, Liu Z, Wang Y, Liu S, Wang MY. A compact and low-cost robotic manipulator driven by supercoiled polymer actuators. Proc - IEEE Int Conf Robot Autom 2020;1827–1833 Choi DS, Kim TH, Lee SH, Pang C, Bae JW, Kim SY. Beyond human hand: shape-adaptive and reversible magnetorheological elastomer-based robot gripper skin. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2020;12:44147–55. Veronneau C, Denis J, Lebel LP, Denninger M, Blanchard V, Girard A, et al. Multifunctional remotely actuated 3-DOF supernumerary robotic arm based on magnetorheological clutches and hydrostatic transmission lines. IEEE Robot Autom Lett. 2020;5:2546–53.