A Controllable Tensegrity Bistable Gripper With Adjustable Performance and Multimodal Triggering

Abstract

Current bistable grippers are limited in triggering modes, adjustability, high-speed grasping controllability, and impact resistance, which constrains their adaptability to diverse targets and complex environments. This paper presents a tensegrity bistable gripper with five triggering modes, three grasping modes, two adjustable performance parameters, and controllable bistable grasping processes. The gripper's self-adaptive jaw supports envelope, hook, and pinch grasping modes, thereby handling objects with a broad size range (0.1–125 mm) and weight range (4.5 g–9.68 kg). By modeling the potential energy and gripping torque of the tensegrity bistable actuator, the proposed adjustment method increases the maximum gripping torque by 152% and raises the trigger energy barrier by 265 times. The five triggering modes offer adjustable grasping response times (0.04 s–26 s). One of the triggering modes enables controllable bistable grasping, allowing for real-time adjustment of both response time and gripper posture during operation. These features enhance the gripper's adaptive grasping capability. Experiments demonstrate successful adaptation to objects with diverse shapes, weights, stiffnesses, and postures while maintaining robust operation under vibrations and in confined spaces, demonstrating significant potential for robotic applications.