A mechanical adhesive gripper inspired by beetle claw for a rock climbing robot

Zi, Peijin; Xu, Kun; Tian, Yunfeng; Ding, Xilun

doi:10.1016/j.mechmachtheory.2022.105168

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…5F), provide load sharing so that the first few spines to make contact with asperities do not take most of the load and fail prematurely. A similar floating tile design is seen in a climbing robot (34).…”

Section: Gripper Designmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Locomotion as manipulation with ReachBot

Chen,

Newdick,

et al. 2024

Sci. Robot.

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Caves and lava tubes on the Moon and Mars are sites of geological and astrobiological interest but consist of terrain that is inaccessible with traditional robot locomotion. To support the exploration of these sites, we present ReachBot, a robot that uses extendable booms as appendages to manipulate itself with respect to irregular rock surfaces. The booms terminate in grippers equipped with microspines and provide ReachBot with a large workspace, allowing it to achieve force closure in enclosed spaces, such as the walls of a lava tube. To propel ReachBot, we present a contact-before-motion planner for nongaited legged locomotion that uses internal force control, similar to a multifingered hand, to keep its long, slender booms in tension. Motion planning also depends on finding and executing secure grips on rock features. We used a Monte Carlo simulation to inform gripper design and predict grasp strength and variability. In addition, we used a two-step perception system to identify possible grasp locations. To validate our approach and mechanisms under realistic conditions, we deployed a single ReachBot arm and gripper in a lava tube in the Mojave Desert. The field test confirmed that ReachBot will find many targets for secure grasps with the proposed kinematic design.

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Section: Gripper Designmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Grasping or climbing rocky surfaces with spines has been addressed in various publications, including some that address space applications (22,(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37). The analysis of collections of spines has also been addressed in detail (33,(38)(39)(40).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Locomotion as manipulation with ReachBot

Chen,

Newdick,

et al. 2024

Sci. Robot.

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“…Tarsomeres and tarsal chains have already been used as inspiration for robotic applications, most prominently locomotion. Some recent examples include a mechanical adhesive gripper inspired by beetle claws and tarsi that was later employed in a climbing robot [ 20 , 21 ]; a complete walking and climbing robot called Drosiphibot modeled after the common fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster , which used passive tarsal chains as end effectors on its feet [ 22 ]; a spine-based wall climbing robot utilizing a tarsal chain inspired mount for its climbing spines [ 23 ]; a novel robotic gripper used in fruit harvesting that employs tarsal chain based end effectors to prevent fruit slipping after harvesting [ 24 ]; and another vertical climbing robot imitating the passive conformability of cockroach tarsal chains [ 25 ]. Another example would be the utilization of the tarsal chain structure and actuation principle in a very general sense in hyper-redundant manipulators for endoscopic surgery [ 26 ] or the creation of a tarsus-based robot leg for locomotion [ 27 ].…”

Section: Adopted Working Principles and Design Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

TriTrap: A Robotic Gripper Inspired by Insect Tarsal Chains

Winand,

Büscher,

Gorb

2024

Biomimetics

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Gripping, holding, and moving objects are among the main functional purposes of robots. Ever since automation first took hold in society, optimizing these functions has been of high priority, and a multitude of approaches has been taken to enable cheaper, more reliable, and more versatile gripping. Attempts are ongoing to reduce grippers’ weight, energy consumption, and production and maintenance costs while simultaneously improving their reliability, the range of eligible objects, working loads, and environmental independence. While the upper bounds of precision and flexibility have been pushed to an impressive level, the corresponding solutions are often dependent on support systems (e.g., sophisticated sensors and complex actuation machinery), advanced control paradigms (e.g., artificial intelligence and machine learning), and typically require more maintenance owed to their complexity, also increasing their cost. These factors make them unsuited for more modest applications, where moderate to semi-high performance is desired, but simplicity is required. In this paper, we attempt to highlight the potential of the tarsal chain principle on the example of a prototype biomimetic gripping device called the TriTrap gripper, inspired by the eponymous tarsal chain of insects. Insects possess a rigid exoskeleton that receives mobility due to several joints and internally attaching muscles. The tarsus (foot) itself does not contain any major intrinsic muscles but is moved by an extrinsically pulled tendon. Just like its biological counterpart, the TriTrap gripping device utilizes strongly underactuated digits that perform their function using morphological encoding and passive conformation, resulting in a gripper that is versatile, robust, and low cost. Its gripping performance was tested on a variety of everyday objects, each of which represented different size, weight, and shape categories. The TriTrap gripper was able to securely hold most of the tested objects in place while they were lifted, rotated, and transported without further optimization. These results show that the insect tarsus selected approach is viable and warrants further development, particularly in the direction of interface optimization. As such, the main goal of the TriTrap gripper, which was to showcase the tarsal chain principle as a viable approach to gripping in general, was achieved.

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“…Furthermore, the concepts of lock and hook mechanisms have been applied to design grippers with characteristics similar to bees [ 249 ], beetles [ 250 ] (see Figure 10 a), and ants [ 251 , 252 , 253 ]. These grippers feature fingers equipped with small hooks, allowing them to attach to surfaces.…”

Section: Animal-inspired Grippersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioinspiration and Biomimetic Art in Robotic Grippers

Nguyen,

Dhyan,

Mai

et al. 2023

Micromachines

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The autonomous manipulation of objects by robotic grippers has made significant strides in enhancing both human daily life and various industries. Within a brief span, a multitude of research endeavours and gripper designs have emerged, drawing inspiration primarily from biological mechanisms. It is within this context that our study takes centre stage, with the aim of conducting a meticulous review of bioinspired grippers. This exploration involved a nuanced classification framework encompassing a range of parameters, including operating principles, material compositions, actuation methods, design intricacies, fabrication techniques, and the multifaceted applications into which these grippers seamlessly integrate. Our comprehensive investigation unveiled gripper designs that brim with a depth of intricacy, rendering them indispensable across a spectrum of real-world scenarios. These bioinspired grippers with a predominant emphasis on animal-inspired solutions have become pivotal tools that not only mirror nature’s genius but also significantly enrich various domains through their versatility.

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A mechanical adhesive gripper inspired by beetle claw for a rock climbing robot

Cited by 13 publications

References 40 publications

Locomotion as manipulation with ReachBot

Locomotion as manipulation with ReachBot

TriTrap: A Robotic Gripper Inspired by Insect Tarsal Chains

Bioinspiration and Biomimetic Art in Robotic Grippers

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