Octopus-inspired soft gripper combined pneumatic actuators and particle jamming units for helical envelope

Abstract An octopus-inspired soft gripper was proposed by combined pneumatic actuators and particle jamming units (PJUs), which enable the proposed gripper to generate helical deformation and enhance the stiffness of the gripper. The structure design of the octopus-inspired soft gripper and the fabrication process of the single finger are described. The platform of pneumatic experiments and the numerical model of pneumatic actuators were established to analyze the effects of geometrical sizes, including chamber angles and lengths of the pneumatic actuator on the helical deformation of the actuators. Experiments and simulations are used to analyze the effects of vacuum degree, membrane thickness, and jamming particles of the PJUs on the variable stiffness characteristics. The tests of envelope capability, grasping adaptability, and grasping force were used to analyze the grasping performance of the octopus-inspired soft gripper, exhibiting excellent helical envelope capabilities, strong adaptability, and a large bearing capacity of the proposed gripper. The proposed gripper has excellent potential for application in the field of soft robots.