Bioinspired Adjustable Soft Robotic Gripper with Integrated Liquid Metal-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator Sensor for Active Perception

Abstract

In a robotic industrial context, traditional robotic grippers are constrained by limited morphological adaptability, reduced manipulation versatility, and imprecise force regulation, fundamentally impeding the development of reliable and predictable robotic manipulation systems. Inspired by the biocoordination between the claw structure and the skin system of the eagle, we present an Adjustable and Perceptible Soft Robotic Gripper (APSRG) for intelligent object handling. The optimized structural configuration and dimensional parameters of the soft actuator enable the APSRG to achieve stable grasping of 10 different objects with varying weights, volumetric dimensions, and geometric profiles within seconds. Additionally, a self-powered triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) sensor is developed for external recognition of the soft robotic gripper using an improved preprocessing strategy based on oxidized liquid metal (LM). The prepared sensors exhibit excellent mechanical and electromechanical performance, characterized by a rapid response time of 60 ms and high durability with over 3000 repeated cycles. The APSRG is a cost-effective, simple, and reliable system with sensing and gripping capabilities, holding great potential for applications in autonomous sorting, exploration of unknown regions, and medical assistance.