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Autonomous positioning, capturing, and grasping mechanism for robot end effectors based on the attraction domain relationship

Shufeng Tang (School of Mechanical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot, China)
Guoqing Zhao (School of Mechanical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot, China)
Yun Zhi (School of Mechanical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot, China)
Ligen Qi (School of Mechanical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot, China)
Renjie Huang (School of Mechanical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot, China)
Hong Chang (School of Mechanical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot, China)
Shijie Guo (School of Mechanical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot, China)
Xuewei Zhang (School of Mechanical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot, China)

Industrial Robot

ISSN: 0143-991X

Article publication date: 9 October 2024

24

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to solve the problem of uncertain position and attitude between unstructured terrain robot and grasped target and insufficient control accuracy in extreme environment, a grasping mechanism based on attraction domain relationship is proposed, which can realize autonomous positioning, capturing and grasping of robot under low control accuracy.

Design/methodology/approach

The grasping mechanism was designed, taking inspiration from fishing behavior this mechanism introduces attraction domains and flexible-elastic structures through the active and passive ends to achieve automatic positioning and capture. After the capture is completed, the grasping mechanism connects the active end and the passive end, simultaneously relying on the gravity of the target object to achieve locking and release between the robot and the target object. This paper adopts theoretical, simulation and experimental verification methods to conduct theoretical and simulation analysis on the autonomous positioning and grasping process of the mechanism, and produces grasping experimental prototypes with different positions and postures.

Findings

The experiment shows that the gripping mechanism designed in this paper can achieve automatic positioning capture and gripping of large deviation situations under low control accuracy, with a displacement deviation of up to 10 mm (about 1/6 diameter of the end of the mechanism) and an angle deviation of up to 3°. The scientific research task in the extremely high altitude environment has finally been successfully accomplished.

Originality/value

Inspired by fishing behavior, this paper proposes a positioning, capturing and grasping mechanism. The attraction area built with permanent magnets, coupled with the flexible connection, enables precise capture under low control, while the grasping mechanism can also rely on gravity to self-lock and release.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by The National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52465003), Key Technology Research Program of Inner Mongolia (Grant Nos. 2021GG0258), the Natural Science Foundation of Inner Mongolia (Grant Nos. 2021MS05005), Key research projects of military-civilian integration of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Grant Nos. JMZD202203), the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant Nos. 2018YFB1307501), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Directly affiliated Universities of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Grant Nos. JY20220046) and in part by the the Program for Innovative Research Team in Universities of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Grant Nos. NMGIRT2213).

Citation

Tang, S., Zhao, G., Zhi, Y., Qi, L., Huang, R., Chang, H., Guo, S. and Zhang, X. (2024), "Autonomous positioning, capturing, and grasping mechanism for robot end effectors based on the attraction domain relationship", Industrial Robot, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IR-05-2024-0234

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited

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