Abstract
The core capabilities of soft grippers/soft robotic hands are grasping and manipulation. At present, most related research often improves the grasping and manipulation performance by structural design. When soft grippers rely on compressive force and friction to achieve grasping, the influence of the surface microstructure is also significant. Three types of fingerprint-inspired textures with relatively regular patterns were prepared on a silicone rubber surface via mold casting by imitating the three basic shapes of fingerprint patterns (i.e., whorls, loops, and arches). Tribological experiments and tip pinch tests were performed using fingerprint-like silicone rubber films rubbing against glass in dry and lubricated conditions to examine their performance. In addition to the textured surface, a smooth silicone rubber surface was used as a control. The results indicated that the coefficient of friction (COF) of the smooth surface was much higher than that of films with fingerprint-like textures in dry and water-lubricated conditions. The surface with fingerprint-inspired textures achieved a higher COF in oil-lubricated conditions. Adding the fingerprint-like films to the soft robotic fingers improved the tip pinch gripping performance of the soft robotic hand in lubricated conditions. This study demonstrated that the surface texture design provided an effective method for regulating the grasping capability of humanoid robotic hands.
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Acknowledgements
This work is supported by the Science Foundation of China University of Petroleum-Beijing (Nos. 2462020XKJS01 and 2462020YXZZ046) and National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2017YFC0805800).
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Tianze HAO. He received her bachelor degree in mechanical engineering and automation in 2018 from Northeast Petroleum University, China. After then, he was a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering in China University of Petroleum-Beijing, China. His research interests include soft robotic and surface engineering.
Huaping XIAO. He received his bachelor degree in 2006 from Tianjin University, Tianjin, China and master degree in 2011 from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. He has earned Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering in 2014 from Texas A&M University (TAMU), USA. He joined the College of Mechanical and Transportation Engineering at China University of Petroleum from 2014. His current position is an associate professor. His research areas include tribology properties and wear behaviors under complicated work condition and bio-related tribological systems.
Shuhai LIU. He received his Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering in 2009 from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. He joined the College of Mechanical and Transportation Engineering at China University of Petroleum-Beijing from 2009. His current position is a professor and the assistant dean of the college. His research interests include tribology, surface science, and petroleum science.
Yibo LIU. He received his bachelor degree in mechanical engineering and automation in 2018 from China University of Petroleum-Beijing, China. After then, He was a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering at the same university. His research interests include soft robotic and surface engineering.
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Fingerprint-inspired surface texture for the enhanced tip pinch performance of a soft robotic hand in lubricated conditions
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Hao, T., Xiao, H., Liu, S. et al. Fingerprint-inspired surface texture for the enhanced tip pinch performance of a soft robotic hand in lubricated conditions. Friction 11, 1349–1358 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-022-0688-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-022-0688-4