Work

A Dual-Morphing Pneumatic Origami Gripper

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In this work, we propose a lightweight pneumatic gripper that can grasp objects from either the outer or inner surfaces. Inspired by the Miura-ori pattern, the gripper is fabricated by laminating films with different cutting patterns to form the crease lines and air chambers. The asymmetry in the thickness of the top and bottom sides of the air chambers causes the gripper’s end to rotate in a predetermined direction upon inflation, enabling a dual-morphing grasping action. The dual morphings include an outward grasping morphing (grasping from the outer surface) and an inward grasping morphing (grasping from the inner surface). The deflection of the gripper’s end, induced by the air chamber’s inflation, is theoretically analyzed using a simplified one-dimensional model. We conducted both finite element modeling and experimental measurements to investigate the influence of the air chamber’s design parameters. Weighing only 4.5 g, the gripper can lift objects more than ten times of its own weight. This study provides a valuable design insight for developing more flexible and adaptable soft grippers capable of holding objects with a wider range of geometrical characteristics.

Source: Actuators

DOI: 10.3390/act14040166

Authors: Ting Yan, Shao-Feng Xu, Kuo-Chih Chuang

Institutions: Zhejiang University, Gannan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan University of Technology, Dalian University of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Soft Robotics and Applications

Subfield: Biomedical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,896

Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China