Active entanglement enables stochastic, topological grasping.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Published Date: Oct 10, 2022

Abstract

Grasping, in both biological and engineered mechanisms, can be highly sensitive to the gripper and object morphology, as well as perception and motion planning. Here, we circumvent the need for feedback or precise planning by using an array of fluidically actuated slender hollow elastomeric filaments to actively entangle with objects that vary in geometric and topological complexity. The resulting stochastic interactions enable a unique soft and conformable grasping strategy across a range of target objects that vary in size, weight, and shape. We experimentally evaluate the grasping performance of our strategy and use a computational framework for the collective mechanics of flexible filaments in contact with complex objects to explain our findings. Overall, our study highlights how active collective entanglement of a filament array via an uncontrolled, spatially distributed scheme provides options for soft, adaptable grasping.

Authors

  • Kaitlyn Becker
    School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.
  • Clark Teeple
    School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.
  • Nicholas Charles
    School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.
  • Yeonsu Jung
    Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, South Korea.
  • Daniel Baum
    Department of Visual and Data-Centric Computing, Zuse Institute Berlin, Takustraße 7, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
  • James C Weaver
    Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
  • L Mahadevan
    John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Physics, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Kavli Institute for Nanobio Science and Technology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138S, USA.
  • Robert Wood
    School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.

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