Angle-programmed tendril-like trajectories enable a multifunctional gripper with ultradelicacy, ultrastrength, and ultraprecision

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 4625
• Main Authors: Hong, Yaoye, Zhao, Yao, Berman, Joseph, Chi, Yinding, Li, Yanbin, Huang, He (Helen), Yin, Jie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 02.08.2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/166/985; 639/166/988; Biodegradation; Biomedical engineering; Contact pressure; Controllability; Deep sea; Engineering; Flat surfaces; Food processing; Grippers; Humanities and Social Sciences; Microfibers; multidisciplinary; Polyethylene terephthalate; Prostheses; Prosthetics; Robot arms; Robotics; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Surgery; Trajectory control; Underwater exploration
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39741-6

Achieving multicapability in a single soft gripper for handling ultrasoft, ultrathin, and ultraheavy objects is challenging due to the tradeoff between compliance, strength, and precision. Here, combining experiments, theory, and simulation, we report utilizing angle-programmed tendril-like grasping trajectories for an ultragentle yet ultrastrong and ultraprecise gripper. The single gripper can delicately grasp fragile liquids with minimal contact pressure (0.05 kPa), lift objects 16,000 times its own weight, and precisely grasp ultrathin, flexible objects like 4-μm-thick sheets and 2-μm-diameter microfibers on flat surfaces, all with a high success rate. Its scalable and material-independent design allows for biodegradable noninvasive grippers made from natural leaves. Explicitly controlled trajectories facilitate its integration with robotic arms and prostheses for challenging tasks, including picking grapes, opening zippers, folding clothes, and turning pages. This work showcases soft grippers excelling in extreme scenarios with potential applications in agriculture, food processing, prosthesis, biomedicine, minimally invasive surgeries, and deep-sea exploration. Soft grippers can emulate human hands, but it remains challenging to achieve multiple capability in manipulating various objects in one design. Hong et al. utilize a kirigami gripper with controllable and programmable trajectories to manipulate objects spanning from ultra-soft to ultra-strong with high precision.