In this paper we have focused the attention on the dimensional synthesis of the mechanisms in two-finger grippers, that we have named as gripping mechanisms to emphasize on their basic gripping purpose. The design problem has been approached and formulated as an optimization problem by a proposed formulation for the basic characteristics of gripping mechanisms. A case of study has been reported...

A or C B. We want to avoid having a vertex at both. In such a case, we are stuck at a local maximum, and we escape by performing a small rotation in the same direction as the previous rotation. If these additional beams are available, then the algorithm can be made entirely table driven. In fact, by moving this beam slightly further from its jaw, we can eliminate cases when there is a vertex on...

The requirement for new flexible adaptive grippers is the ability to detect and recognize objects in their environments. It is known that robotic manipulators are highly nonlinear systems, and an accurate mathematical model is difficult to obtain, thus making it difficult make decision strategies using conventional techniques. Here, an adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) for controlli...

Modular fixturing kits are precisely machined sets of components used for flexible, shortturnaround construction of fixtures for a variety of manufacturing purposes. A modularvise is a parallel-jaw vise, where each jaw is a modular fixture plate with a regular grid of precisely positioned holes. A modular vise can be used to locate and hold parts for machining, assembly, and inspection tasks. T...

A neural map algorithm has been employed to control a five-joint pneumatic robot arm and gripper through feedback from two video cameras. The pneumatically driven robot arm (SoftArm) employed in this investigation shares essential mechanical characteristics with skeletal muscle systems. To control the position of the arm, 200 neurons formed a network representing the three-dimensional workspace...

We report on a methodology for identifying and grasping objects of various basic shapes in pick-and-place tasks with a manipulator containing a gripper. The gripper is designed to be underactuated and changeable in configuration (two-finger mode and three-finger mode) to increase its intrinsic adaptation to objects of various shapes. The tactile sensing system, composed of a pressure sensor arr...