Development of Universal Robot Gripper Using MRα Fluid

Abstract

In this paper, we developed a universal robot gripper using an electromagnet and a novel reforming magnetorheological (MR) fluid. First, we added nonmagnetic particles to an MR fluid to develop a novel reforming MR fluid called MR[Formula: see text] fluid; this fluid resolved several issues faced with MR fluids. The developed fluid’s specific gravity is one-half and solidification hardness is two times that of MR fluid. The characteristics of the MR[Formula: see text] fluid and an application that can control solidification under a magnetic field are described. Next, the developed gripper, which consists of an electromagnet and an elastic membrane that encloses the MR[Formula: see text] fluid, is described. Further, several experimental results of the features and capabilities of the gripper are presented.