Bioarchitectonics-inspired soft grippers with cutaneous slip perception

Abstract

The growing demand for dexterous and autonomous robotic manipulation highlights the need for advanced sensing and control strategies, particularly for slip prevention. Although soft grippers provide intrinsic compliance and adaptability, their effectiveness is often limited by the lack of real-time sensory feedback and the complexity of soft actuator dynamics. Inspired by human tactile perception, we developed a bioarchitectonics-inspired soft slip sensor with a three-dimensional structure that leverages crack and stress concentration to enhance sensitivity to incipient slip and shear force. Complementarily, a soft gripper with a linear pressure-to-force response was engineered to enable stable and predictable force modulation. The flexible slip sensors were conformally integrated onto the grippers, forming a fully perceptive soft robotic system capable of detecting early-stage slippage and investigating interfacial frictional properties. This integration establishes a closed-loop sensorimotor framework that notably improves the reliability and adaptability of soft robotic grasping across a wide range of real-world applications.