3D printing and soft robotics have come together once again. This time it is in the form of a soft robotic gripper that can discern, grip and manipulate objects without being pre-programmed to do so. The device, developed by engineers and roboticists at the加利福尼亚大学圣地亚哥，利用一种非光学检测方法来确定其掌握的内容。
抓手包括三个手指，每个手指由两个元素组成。第一个元素是灵活的actuator module, which is capable of bending and forming a grip around the object.第二个元素是“模块化柔性传感器皮肤”，能够测量弯曲并与物体接触。
The 3D printing the actuator modules
执行器模块的霉菌是从veroclear印刷的3D，在Stratasys OBJET350 Connex3打印机上。然后将硅弹性计复合材料倒入模具中。在形成执行器时，使用3D打印对半透明模具可显着减少泄漏和气泡。
模块化的柔性传感器皮肤，含有碳纳米管，由导电 - 聚二甲基硅氧烷（CPDMS）痕迹制成，然后包裹在执行器模块上。
Functional fingers
The actuator modules each consist of three pneumatically activated chambers which can be inflated independently to achieve a range of complex positions. This inflation can be activated when a change in air pressure occurs.
当手指弯曲与物体接触时，皮肤内的碳纳米管的电导率会变化，从而使皮肤记录并检测到与之接触的物体。该数据通过控制板进行，以类似于CT扫描的方式形成对象的3D“可视化”。
When the three modules work in together, the UC San Diego engineers report that the gripper is capable of interacting with screwdrivers, bottle caps, and light bulbs.
3D printed fingers, 3D printed muscles
圣地亚哥集团，由迈克尔·托利教授领导生物启发的实验室presented the robotic gripper at the conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in Vancouver (IROS) last month, where it was added to a Fetch Robotics industrial robot.
This robot was able to determine the correct grip for objects of different surface textures. The UC San Diego scientists hope that the gripper will help teach robots to better understand the environment with which they are in contact.
Other soft robotics research currently underway is哥伦比亚大学在3D印刷执行器上的工作that mimic the expansion and contraction of human muscles.
完整的研究论文，“定制的软机器人握把传感器皮肤，用于触觉对象可视化”，作者：本杰明·西赫（Benjamin Shih），迪伦·德罗特（Dylan Drotman），卡莱布·克里斯蒂安森（Caleb Christianson），Zhaoyuan Huo，Ruffin White，Henrik I. Christensen和Michael T. T.可以在这里阅读。
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Featured image shows The actuator gripping and turning a polished perspex disk. Video via BioInspired. Gif via R. Haria.
