Real-Time Intelligent Gripping System for Dexterous Manipulation of Industrial Robots

Abstract

This paper describes a concept and presents the experimental results for robotic end-effector operation for handling product items that are flexible or variable in physical properties such as size, shape or firmness and also describes a scheme by which a manipulator can use dynamic tactile sensing to detect when it is about to lose hold of a grasped object and take preventive measures before gross sliding occurs. This paper also elaborates the mechanical, sensing and control issues of such a system and presents results on a novel modular gripping system developed for this purpose. By detecting localized slips on the gripping surface which precede gross slip, the controller can modify the grasp force to prevent the object from slipping. Accurate knowledge of slip is essential when grasping fragile objects or manipulations with sliding. A tactile sensor enables a robot, cybernetic device or other appropriate automatic mechanism to sense an object, to measure the force of contact, and to determine the force required to seize an object. The tactile sensor used in this experiment predicts the partial slip of a tactile surface by sensing micro vibrations in tangential forces which are caused by the expansion of the slip regions within the contact area. Finally a summary of contributions is listed and the advantages of using this intelligent gripping system is elaborated.