AirBear: Shape-Adaptive Grasping via Inflatable Actuation
This project was completed for the ME 292C: Morphing Materials and Mechanisms class with Aathavan Senthilkumar and Lleyton Elliot.
As robotics rises in popularity, there is a growing demand for the ability to handle diverse, irregular, and fragile objects. Conventional robot manipulators struggle with these requirements, lacking even pressure distribution and detection of object fragility. Soft robotics offer promise due to its compliance and adaptability but still lack continuous shape-morphing behavior and real-time, sensor-driven feedback control.
So my team and I designed AIRBEAR, a shape-adaptive soft robotic gripper.
Project Poster
I co-developed the system design, including the end effector morphology and control architecture. I implemented the control logic (state diagram on poster) that actuates the pumps and monitors FSR readings to achieve stability. I also led manufacturing in the Morphing Matter wet lab where we spent days developing the silicone molds. Finally, I designed the testing protocol for evaluating system capabilities on different objects.
AIRBEAR was able to successfully pick up an egg, a roll of tape, and a paper cup with varying degrees of success for each one. The inflation automatically stopped when even pressure was detected on all sides of the claw/cage that housed the silicone. Combining the claw with the silicone was extremely beneficial to getting the silicone to conform to certain objects and the petal shape assisted greatly with securing the objects.
State Diagram