ReSoft Gripper: A reconfigurable soft gripper with monolithic fingers and differential mechanism for versatile and delicate grasping

Variations in size and geometry of objects and the need for a delicate grasp are major challenges for the development of grippers for the agri-food industry. To address this, we present a novel reconfigurable soft (ReSoft) gripper based on monolithic silicone fingers and differential mechanism. One motor is used to achieve different configurations for the fingers (spread action) and a second motor is used to obtain the closing motion of fingers (grip action) using cables and differential mechanism. The combined effect of the softness of the fingers, underactuation of the system, and the differential mechanism allow the fingers to adapt to the shape of the object for a delicate and firm grasp. The spread action helps to rearrange the position and orientation of fingers and thereby increases the adaptability of the gripper for grasping objects of various geometries. Hence, a versatile soft gripping is achieved by using only two motors. We performed a set of experiments to quantify some of the performance characteristics and to demonstrate the grasping potential of the gripper.