Design and Analysis of a Novel Tri-layer Granular Jamming Gripper

Research Article
Open access

Design and Analysis of a Novel Tri-layer Granular Jamming Gripper

Lefan Yang 1*
  • 1 St. Augustine Catholic High School, Markham, ON, Canada    
  • *corresponding author felix.notable@gmail.com
ACE Vol.169
ISSN (Print): 2755-273X
ISSN (Online): 2755-2721
ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-209-6
ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-210-2

Abstract

This paper introduces the design and analysis of a novel tri-layer granular jamming gripper, developed to address the performance limitations of traditional granular jamming grippers in intelligent soft robotics. While universal grippers offer adaptability and flexibility in grasping a wide range of objects, they suffer from constraints such as limited load capacity, insufficient shape adaptability, and challenges in handling smooth or irregular surfaces. The proposed tri-layer gripper introduces an intermediate airbag layer between the rigid outer shell and the granular medium, allowing enhanced conformability and grip strength through active air inflation. To evaluate the performance of the tri-layer gripper, comparative experiments were conducted against a conventional granular jamming gripper, serving as a control. The experiments included grasping tests with objects of varying shapes, sizes, surface properties, and gripping force measurements. Results demonstrate that the tri-layer gripper consistently outperforms the traditional gripper, particularly in handling smooth and irregularly shaped objects, providing a firmer and more stable grip. The airbag’s ability to increase contact area and apply lateral pressure significantly improves both load-bearing capacity and overall adaptability. Despite these advancements, current limitations include the rudimentary nature of the materials used, inefficiencies in the inflation mechanism, and constraints on size scalability. Future improvements could focus on optimizing material selection, refining manufacturing techniques, and integrating more intelligent control systems for enhanced precision and adaptability. The findings of this study contribute to the advancement of intelligent soft robotic gripping technologies, paving the way for more efficient and versatile robotic manipulation in real-world applications.

Keywords:

Tri-layer gripper, intelligent soft robotics, shape adaptability, enhanced conformability

Yang,L. (2025). Design and Analysis of a Novel Tri-layer Granular Jamming Gripper. Applied and Computational Engineering,169,1-10.
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References

[1]. Abdallah C., Dawson D., Dorato P., Jamshidi M. (1991), Survey of robust control for rigid robots, IEEE Control Systems Magazine, 11, 24.

[2]. Fazeli N., Zapolsky S., Drumwright E., Rodriguez A. (2020). Fundamental Limitations in Performance and Interpretability of Common Planar Rigid-Body Contact Models. Robotics Research: The 18th International Symposium ISRR. pp 555–571.

[3]. Chen A., Yin R., Cao L., Yuan C., Ding H., Zhang W. (2017). Soft robotics: Definition and research issues. 2017 24th international conference on mechatronics and machine vision in practice (M2VIP). pp 366–370

[4]. Rus D., Tolley M. T. (2015). Design, fabrication and control of soft robots. Nature, 521, 467.

[5]. Rusu D.-M., Mândru S.-D., Biris, C.-M., Petras, cu O.-L., Morariu F., Ianosi-Andreeva-Dimitrova A. (2023). Soft Robotics: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis. Micromachines, 14, 359.

[6]. Sun Y., Liu Y., Pancheri F., Lueth T. C. (2022). A Lightweight Robotic Gripper With 3-D Topology Optimized Adaptive Fingers. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 27, 2026.

[7]. Huang J., Wei Z., Cui Y., Liu J. (2023). Clamping force manipulation in 2D compliant gripper topology optimization under frictionless contact. Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 66, 164.

[8]. Nie K., Wan W., Harada K. (2018). An Adaptive Robotic Gripper with L-Shape Fingers for Peg-in-Hole Tasks. 2018 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS). pp 4022–4028.

[9]. Parveen S., Suhaib M., Majid M. A. (2023). Multifinger Robotic Gripper: A Review. 2023 International conference on recent advances in electrical, electronics & digital healthcare technologies (REEDCON). pp 466–470.

[10]. Dzedzickis A., Petroniene J. J., Petkevičius S., Bučinskas V. (2024). Soft Grippers in Robotics: Progress of Last 10 Years. Machines, 12(12), pp 887.

[11]. Amend J. R., Brown E., Rodenberg N., Jaeger H. M., Lipson H. (2012). A Positive Pressure Universal Gripper Based on the Jamming of Granular Material. IEEE transactions on robotics, 28, 341.

[12]. Choi H., Koc M. (2006). Design and feasibility tests of a flexible gripper based on inflatable rubber pockets. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture, 46, 1350.

[13]. Brown E., Rodenberg N., Amend J., Mozeika A., Steltz E., Zakin M. R., Lipson H., Jaeger H. M. (2010). Universal robotic gripper based on the jamming of granular material. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107, 18809.

[14]. Wacker C., Dierks N., Kwade A., Dröder K. (2024). Experimental assessment and prediction of design parameter influences on a specific vacuum-based granular gripper. ROBOMECH Journal, 11, 1.

[15]. Piskarev Y., Devincenti A., Ramachandran V., Bourban P.-E., Dickey M. D., Shintake J., Floreano D. (2023). A Soft Gripper with Granular Jamming and Electroadhesive Properties. Advanced Intelligent Systems, 5, 2200409.

[16]. Brekmis used in this paper. https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B091GDF1B4

[17]. OLCANA used in this paper. https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0D9YC5WWS

Cite this article

Yang,L. (2025). Design and Analysis of a Novel Tri-layer Granular Jamming Gripper. Applied and Computational Engineering,169,1-10.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

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About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of CONF-MSS 2025 Symposium: Machine Vision System

ISBN：978-1-80590-209-6(Print) / 978-1-80590-210-2(Online)
Editor：Cheng Wang, Marwan Omar
Conference website: https://www.confmss.org/chicago.html
Conference date: 5 June 2025
Series: Applied and Computational Engineering
Volume number: Vol.169
ISSN：2755-2721(Print) / 2755-273X(Online)

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References

[1]. Abdallah C., Dawson D., Dorato P., Jamshidi M. (1991), Survey of robust control for rigid robots, IEEE Control Systems Magazine, 11, 24.

[2]. Fazeli N., Zapolsky S., Drumwright E., Rodriguez A. (2020). Fundamental Limitations in Performance and Interpretability of Common Planar Rigid-Body Contact Models. Robotics Research: The 18th International Symposium ISRR. pp 555–571.

[3]. Chen A., Yin R., Cao L., Yuan C., Ding H., Zhang W. (2017). Soft robotics: Definition and research issues. 2017 24th international conference on mechatronics and machine vision in practice (M2VIP). pp 366–370

[4]. Rus D., Tolley M. T. (2015). Design, fabrication and control of soft robots. Nature, 521, 467.

[5]. Rusu D.-M., Mândru S.-D., Biris, C.-M., Petras, cu O.-L., Morariu F., Ianosi-Andreeva-Dimitrova A. (2023). Soft Robotics: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis. Micromachines, 14, 359.

[6]. Sun Y., Liu Y., Pancheri F., Lueth T. C. (2022). A Lightweight Robotic Gripper With 3-D Topology Optimized Adaptive Fingers. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 27, 2026.

[7]. Huang J., Wei Z., Cui Y., Liu J. (2023). Clamping force manipulation in 2D compliant gripper topology optimization under frictionless contact. Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 66, 164.

[8]. Nie K., Wan W., Harada K. (2018). An Adaptive Robotic Gripper with L-Shape Fingers for Peg-in-Hole Tasks. 2018 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS). pp 4022–4028.

[9]. Parveen S., Suhaib M., Majid M. A. (2023). Multifinger Robotic Gripper: A Review. 2023 International conference on recent advances in electrical, electronics & digital healthcare technologies (REEDCON). pp 466–470.

[10]. Dzedzickis A., Petroniene J. J., Petkevičius S., Bučinskas V. (2024). Soft Grippers in Robotics: Progress of Last 10 Years. Machines, 12(12), pp 887.

[11]. Amend J. R., Brown E., Rodenberg N., Jaeger H. M., Lipson H. (2012). A Positive Pressure Universal Gripper Based on the Jamming of Granular Material. IEEE transactions on robotics, 28, 341.

[12]. Choi H., Koc M. (2006). Design and feasibility tests of a flexible gripper based on inflatable rubber pockets. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture, 46, 1350.

[13]. Brown E., Rodenberg N., Amend J., Mozeika A., Steltz E., Zakin M. R., Lipson H., Jaeger H. M. (2010). Universal robotic gripper based on the jamming of granular material. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107, 18809.

[14]. Wacker C., Dierks N., Kwade A., Dröder K. (2024). Experimental assessment and prediction of design parameter influences on a specific vacuum-based granular gripper. ROBOMECH Journal, 11, 1.

[15]. Piskarev Y., Devincenti A., Ramachandran V., Bourban P.-E., Dickey M. D., Shintake J., Floreano D. (2023). A Soft Gripper with Granular Jamming and Electroadhesive Properties. Advanced Intelligent Systems, 5, 2200409.

[16]. Brekmis used in this paper. https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B091GDF1B4

[17]. OLCANA used in this paper. https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0D9YC5WWS

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