Manipulation is one of the pillars of robotics, with gripping as a core component. Rigid grippers are limited in grasping capability and prone to damage objects. Soft grippers in comparison are able to grip safely due to their built-in compliance. In this project, you will work on improving position sensing in a soft pneumatic-actuated hand. You will identify shortcomings of the current sensing approaches and research and design a new method of your own. You will evaluate and employ various advanced sensors, apply the new sensing approach to control finger positions of the robotic hand, and verify the success of your implementation.
Manipulation is one of the pillars of robotics, with gripping as a core component. Rigid grippers are limited in grasping capability and prone to damage objects. Soft grippers in comparison are able to grip safely due to their built-in compliance. In this project, you will work on improving position sensing in a soft pneumatic-actuated hand. You will identify shortcomings of the current sensing approaches and research and design a new method of your own. You will evaluate and employ various advanced sensors, apply the new sensing approach to control finger positions of the robotic hand, and verify the success of your implementation.
- Literature review on soft actuation and curvature sensing
- Quantify performance of existing sensors
- Model and simulate the fingers
- Design and implement a new sensory solution for position sensing
- Implement positional curvature control on the fingers
- Literature review on soft actuation and curvature sensing - Quantify performance of existing sensors - Model and simulate the fingers - Design and implement a new sensory solution for position sensing - Implement positional curvature control on the fingers
- Highly motivated and excellent problem-solving abilities
- C/C++ and/or python knowledge
- Basic electronics knowledge
- Attitude to independent work
Additionally, knowledge in one or more of the following areas is a plus:
- Microcontrollers and Serial Interfaces (Arduino, STM32)
- Mechatronics
- System Modeling
- (Soft) Robotics
- Control Systems
- Highly motivated and excellent problem-solving abilities - C/C++ and/or python knowledge - Basic electronics knowledge - Attitude to independent work Additionally, knowledge in one or more of the following areas is a plus: - Microcontrollers and Serial Interfaces (Arduino, STM32) - Mechatronics - System Modeling - (Soft) Robotics - Control Systems
- Barnabas Gavin Cangan, gavin.cangan@srl.ethz.ch, Soft Robotics Lab (SRL), D-MAVT
- Prof. Dr. Robert Katzschmann, rkk@ethz.ch, Soft Robotics Lab (SRL), D-MAVT
- Barnabas Gavin Cangan, gavin.cangan@srl.ethz.ch, Soft Robotics Lab (SRL), D-MAVT - Prof. Dr. Robert Katzschmann, rkk@ethz.ch, Soft Robotics Lab (SRL), D-MAVT