Glowing Sucker Octopus (Stauroteuthis syrtensis)-Inspired Soft Robotic Gripper for Underwater Self-Adaptive Grasping and Sensing.

Journal: Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)
Published Date: Jun 1, 2022

Abstract

A soft gripper inspired by the glowing sucker octopus (Stauroteuthis syrtensis)' highly evolved grasping capability enabled by the umbrella-shaped dorsal and ventral membrane between each arm is presented here, comprising of a 3D-printed linkage mechanism used to actuate a modular mold silicone-casting soft suction disc to deform. The soft gripper grasp can lift objects using the suction generated by the pump in the soft disc. Moreover, the protruded funnel-shaped end of the deformed suctorial mouth can adapt to smooth and rough surfaces. Furthermore, when the gripper contacts the submerged target objects in a turbid environment, local suctorial mouth arrays on the suction disc are locked, causing the variable flow inside them, which can be detected as a tactile perception signal to the target objects instead of visual perception. Aided by the 3D-printed linkage mechanism, the soft gripper can grasp objects of different shapes and dimensions, including flat objects, objects beyond the grasping range, irregular objects, scattered objects, and a moving turtle. The results report the soft gripper's versatility and demonstrate the vast application potentials of self-adaptive grasping and sensing in various environments, including but are not limited to underwater, which is always a key challenge of grasping technology.

Authors

  • Mingxin Wu
    State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Intelligent Biomimetic Design Lab, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, P. R. China.
  • Xingwen Zheng
    State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, People's Republic of China.
  • Ruosi Liu
    State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Intelligent Biomimetic Design Lab, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, P. R. China.
  • Ningzhe Hou
    Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
  • Waqar Hussain Afridi
    State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Intelligent Biomimetic Design Lab, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, P. R. China.
  • Rahdar Hussain Afridi
    State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Intelligent Biomimetic Design Lab, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, P. R. China.
  • Xin Guo
    Department of Applied Mathematics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.
  • Jianing Wu
    School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China.
  • Chen Wang
    Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
  • Guangming Xie

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