Soft grasping mechanism of human fingers for tomato-picking bionic robots

•Soft grasping is a great challenge for picking robots.•Soft contact mechanical index was defined for describing finger grasping behavior.•Soft grasping behavior depended on the mechanics and structure of fingers.•Six finger region groups existed difference in soft contact behavior.•The soft contact...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Computers and electronics in agriculture 2021-03, Vol.182, p.106010, Article 106010
Main Authors: Hou, Zhongliang, Li, Zhiguo, Fadiji, Tobi, Fu, Jun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bionics
Cluster analysis
Computed tomography
CT scanning
End effectors
Finger biomechanics
Fingers
Finite element analysis
Finite element method
Grasping (robotics)
Mathematical models
Mechanical properties
Mechanics
Mechanics (physics)
Modulus of elasticity
Picking
Poisson's ratio
Robots
Soft contact mechanical index
Soft finger design
Softness
Tomato-picking robot grasping
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Summary:•Soft grasping is a great challenge for picking robots.•Soft contact mechanical index was defined for describing finger grasping behavior.•Soft grasping behavior depended on the mechanics and structure of fingers.•Six finger region groups existed difference in soft contact behavior.•The soft contact mechanism of fingers was quantified by six mathematical models. Soft grasping is a great challenge for picking robots and its bionic inspiration originates from human fingers. In this study, the hand was scanned to obtain the internal structure of fingers by a computerized tomography (CT) scanner, and the soft contact mechanical index a was defined for characterizing the degree of softness of a finger region during gentle grasping. The effects of mechanics and structure of finger tissues on the soft contact mechanical index were investigated by finite element analysis and multiple linear regression. The finite element models of the 14 finger regions were split into 6 different groups by a hierarchical cluster analysis. In each group, a mathematical model was established to link the soft contact mechanical index with the mechanics as well as the structure of finger tissues. In most finger regions, their soft contact mechanical index significantly depended on the elastic moduli of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (Eskin, Etissue), the Poisson’s ratio ʋtissue and the thickness Ttissue of the subcutaneous tissue (p 
ISSN:0168-1699
1872-7107
DOI:10.1016/j.compag.2021.106010