The octopus is a fascinating creature. As it has no skeleton and is made almost entirely of soft muscle; it is also extremely flexible and manoeuvrable. This means it not only can swim agilely in all directions but also can get a form-fitting grip on a wide range of objects. The TentacleGripper is now using this phenomenon in its own way.
The bionic gripper consists of a soft silicone structure, which can be pneumatically controlled. If compressed air is applied to it, the tentacle bends inwards and can wrap around the respective item with a form-fitting and gentle grip.
Just as with its natural role model, there are two rows of suction cups on the inside of the silicone tentacle. Whilst the small suction cups on the end of the gripper work passively, a vacuum can be applied to the larger suction cups, causing the object to adhere securely to the gripper. This means that the TentacleGripper can pick up and hold a variety of different shapes.
Thanks to its soft material, the artificial tentacle not only grips objects gently and safely; it also fulfils the strict criteria of a soft robotics component and thus has great potential for the collaborative workspaces of the future.
With this in mind, we are testing the gripper on not one but two pneumatic lightweight robots that were also developed in the Bionic Learning Network: the BionicMotionRobot and the BionicCobot. Both robots are designed with pliability throughout, and their kinematics can be continually varied to alter their rigidity. They can therefore interact directly with people. Even in the event of a collision, they are safe, and there is no need for a barrier between them and the worker – like there is with conventional factory robots.