AUTHOR=Navas Eduardo , Shamshiri Redmond R. , Dworak Volker , Weltzien Cornelia , Fernández Roemi TITLE=Soft gripper for small fruits harvesting and pick and place operations JOURNAL=Frontiers in Robotics and AI VOLUME=10 YEAR=2024 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/robotics-and-ai/articles/10.3389/frobt.2023.1330496 DOI=10.3389/frobt.2023.1330496 ISSN=2296-9144 ABSTRACT=

Agriculture 4.0 presents several challenges for the automation of various operations, including the fundamental task of harvesting. One of the crucial aspects in the automatic harvesting of high value crops is the grip and detachment of delicate fruits without spoiling them or interfering with the environment. Soft robotic systems, particularly soft grippers, offer a promising solution for this problem, as they can operate in unstructured environments, manipulate objects delicately, and interact safely with humans. In this context, this article presents a soft gripper design for harvesting as well as for pick-and-place operations of small and medium-sized fruits. The gripper is fabricated using the 3D printing technology with a flexible thermoplastic elastomer filament. This approach enables the production of an economical, compact, easily replicable, and interchangeable gripper by utilizing soft robotics principles, such as flexible structures and pneumatic actuation.