A Bioinspired Multifunctional Soft Gripper with Embedded Sensing Ability: a potential way for sustainable agricultural harvesting

Abstract

Soft robotics holds great potential for revolutionizing various industries, and one particularly promising application lies in agricultural harvesting. By leveraging the adaptability, dexterity, and gentle touch of soft robotic grippers, we can envision a future where delicate crops are efficiently and meticulously harvested with minimal damage. This study presents a novel fiberless soft pneumatic gripper inspired by plant structures, offering multifunctional capabilities such as coiling, bending, and elongation in a bidirectional manner. The actuator is equipped with embedded sensors for proprioception, allowing it to sense and respond to environmental stimuli. Experimental tests have characterized the actuator’s actuation and sensing capabilities, highlighting its potential for a wide range of applications, including agricultural harvesting. The actuator’s ability to grip delicate and solid objects has been demonstrated, showcasing its versatility. Additionally, the embedded sensors exhibit discriminative properties, enabling the detection of bending, coiling, and elongation actions, as well as environmental mechanical stimuli such as stretch, oscillation, and pressure.