Design of a Robot End-Effector Grabbing Mechanism Based on a Bionic Snake Mouth. (22nd March 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhuang, Fu; Hangfei, Zhou; Zijuan, Liu; Jian, Fei; Weixin, Yan; Yanzheng, Zhao
• Is Part Of: International journal of advanced robotic systems. Volume 10:Number 3(2013)
• Publication Date: 2013-03-22
• Subjects: Bionic Design -- Robotics -- End-effector -- Grabbing Mechanism; Robotics -- Periodicals; Robotics; Periodicals; 629.892
• DOI: 10.5772/54562
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1729-8806

Abstract

Inspired by the bite and swallowing function of a snake's mouth, a robot end-effector grabbing mechanism was designed. The grabbing movement is realized by the 'bite' function of the bionic snake mouth actuator, and the 'swallowing' function insures a continuous grip on the object. To implement the continuous grip function of the new robot end-effector, the complex motion of a snake's mouth is simplified into three basic movements based on the anatomy of a snake's mouth and with a combination of bionics and engineering. The upper jaw consists of a double four-bar linkage mechanism and the lower jaw mechanism implementing a lateral expansion function are the two elements of the robot end-effector. The relationship model and the corresponding curves of the actuating force and gripping force are necessary to implement an open-loop control of the robot end-effector. Through analysis and simulation, linkage parameters are determined to implement the desired motion.