Design, Analysis and Experimental Research of Dual-Tendon-Driven Underactuated Gripper

Abstract

To improve the adaptive clamping performance of traditional single-tendon-driven underactuated grippers for grasping multiple categories of objects, a novel dual-tendon-driven underactuated gripper is proposed in this paper. First, two independent tendons with different winding paths are designed in the gripper to realize the changeable resultant moment of the end knuckle rotating joint and the movement sequences of gripper knuckles driven by different tendons are analysed too. Then, some kinematic analysis and dynamical simulations are carried out to verify the validation of the knuckle structure and dual-tendon winding path design. At last, a prototype of the novel gripper is manufactured and some grasping experiments are carried out on multiple categories of objects, with different sizes and shapes. The experimental results show that all the objects can be clamped tightly. Compared with the traditional single-tendon-driven gripper, the novel one can achieve a more flexible grasping operation and a larger end clamping force, which are more suitable for the adaptive grasping requirements of robotic automatic sorting.