3D Adaptive Gripper deployed on the Barrnon Ltd Sort & Segregate System (BLISS)

Introducing a new kind of robotic gripper

Designed to grip and manipulate objects large, small, planar, cuboid, cylindrical, spherical, deformable: grippers also mount on the Robotiq 2F actuator.

• The gripper auto-adapts to the shape of the object

• The gimballing grippers can pivot in 2D

• With the gripper closing movement the adaptation becomes 3D

• The pressure generated by the closing force is widely and optimally distributed

• Deformable and delicate objects are not damaged

• Liquids and gases inside objects are not released

Proven and tested for nuclear decommissioning on semi-autonomous robotics. This gripper makes minimal integration demands. It is suited for robotic applications in unstructured and challenging environments where the gripper has to perform the role of multiple specialised grippers.

Background

Many tasks in nuclear decommissioning require human dexterity but cannot be performed by humans. This is because the prevailing environmental conditions are too hazardous for human entry, notably the presence of Alpha particles. Protective clothing offers a partial solution but a single perforation of such clothing can lead to grave illness or death. It follows that there is a major and enduring bottleneck in nuclear decommissioning and an urgent requirement exists for technologies that emulate or surpass human capabilities to fill this gap.

One current area of focus in the industry, both in the UK and internationally, is in the sorting and segregating of waste, some of this waste dating back decades. The items to be sorted vary considerably in terms of size, form, mass, deformability, surface texture, and it is often the case that very little is known about them. The challenge is to operate effectively in a substantially unstructured, unpredictable environment, and in so doing to devise technologies that have proven repeatability and reliability. Aside from the challenge of recognising and categorizing these items according to the industry’s Waste Acceptance Criteria, and of assigning the items to appropriate waste routes, the objects need to be collected from wherever they are discovered in the environment and be put through a set of data-capture processes in order to perform object recognition and categorisation, and thereafter they need to be delivered to appropriate receptacles.

To address a challenge of this type, a gripper has been developed by Ross Innovation that removes the need for tool-head swap as it can perform the tasks of many different types of grippers. This has been achieved by invoking the principle of under-actuation and applying it to a set of geometries that enable the gripping surfaces to move in the x, y and z axes as they come into contact with the surface of an object.

The overriding purpose is to make the object itself determine how the gripper achieves its grip, e.g. the ‘intelligence’ is in the object, not in the robot or in the gripper. A single gripper performing the role of many, and making no supplementary high-level control or sensing demands, meets a major requirement in nuclear – keeping the technology as simple as possible to minimise risk of failure.

3D Adaptive Gripper deployed on the Barrnon Ltd Sort & Segregate System (BLISS)

The gripper has been deployed as part of the Barrnon Ltd Sort & Segregate System (BLISS) - a modular robotic automated system, that can identify then sort and segregate nuclear waste.

Features

Advantages of 3D adaptability

Most robotic grippers are designed for repetitive, mundane tasks that are tedious and sometimes dangerous for workers. Our range of Autogrip 3D end-effectors is designed for exactly the opposite scenario, a new addition to the ecosystem of robotics, where tasks are unpredictable and non-repetitive, where the parameters for gripping and manipulating objects are imprecise.

Productivity

Autogrip 3D makes confident manipulation of objects in unstructured and unpredictable environments possible. Proven in nuclear decommissioning, productivity gains are matched by significant de-risking. Objects can be held securely and are not dropped. Deformable objects susceptible to splitting or puncturing remain undamaged. Planned operations can be performed with a high level of confidence that a simulation, or a Digital Twin and the reality will match.

Easy Integration

No extra sensing or high level control is required, the grippers auto-adapt to the size and form of the object. Physical integration with a standard industry actuator is straightforward and achievable in minutes. Every gripper is delivered with a User Guide plus all items required for integration.

Support & Services

Our software support & development service covers customisation of control to suit specific applications including automation.