Increasing the Holding Force of Non-Rigid Materials Through Robot End-Effector Reorientation
Keywords: Manipulation, non-rigid material, pneumatic gripper, holding force, reorientation.
Abstract: While manipulation for rigid objects in the context of automated manufacturing processes has been well studied, there are few examples in the literature for how to handle non-rigid objects in an automated fashion. A significant control problem that arises when manipulating non-rigid objects (e.g., films and fabrics) with existing pneumatic grippers is both the inherent deformation of the object during grasp, as well as changes in the object's center of mass. To solve those problems, we introduce an approach to reorient pneumatic gripping devices during vertical movements and present results on the influence of reorienting a gripping device on the holding force for several non-rigid objects. We show that holding force increases with an increase in the orientation angle due to both reduction of depressurization within the suction cup, as well as the ability to leverage friction forces between the object and the gripper. This study is the first step towards future work in real-time robotic controlled reorientation during dexterous manipulation of non-rigid objects.
Submission Number: 9
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