Adjustable Robotic Gripper for Versatile Food Handling
Opportunity
For many large institutions such as schools and hospitals, food catering and services are instrumental in providing large amounts of meals quickly and safely. Likewise for the travel and meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) industries-premium meal offerings are sometimes used as a differentiator. The global market for catering and food contractors was estimated to be US$25.3 billion in 2021, and growing at a CAGR of 6.28% to reach US$34.3 billion by 2028.
At present, consumer needs and demands are increasingly giving rise to premium and bespoke menus in catering-such as those involving the use of expensive ingredients and assembly of complicated meal sets. With growing competition, there is also pressure to lower costs and increase productivity. While existing robotic grippers offer opportunities to automate and streamline food preparation and processing, most grippers cannot be easily adjusted to handle the wide range of shapes, sizes and textures of food items.
Technology
This technology comprises a hybrid robotic gripper with an adjustable base and one or more finger modules. Each finger module has a hybrid finger actuator control system consisting of a pneumatic solenoid valve and a pneumatic pressure sensor. The grasping and release of objects is controlled by triggering the valve.
To complete different tasks, the fingers are adjustable into multiple positions-scoop, claw and pinch. Additionally, the finger modules can be easily detached and replaced to accommodate objects of varying widths. A variable stiffness ball joint also allows the fingers’ rigidity to be programmed to handle different tasks and improve grasping performance-from handling delicate items to high-speed pick-and-place.
For use with robotic arms without a joint in the wrist region, the robotic gripper’s rotatable joint facilitates scooping and hooking motions. Other capabilities can be added with custom finger sleeves made of silicone or fabric for temperature/force sensing and food safety.
Reconfigurable Hybrid Robotic Gripper
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