This research project is to model, design and experimentally evaluate a reconfigurable robotic gripper system capable of handling a wide variety of sizes and shapes of limp material in a reliable and rapid manner, without causing damage, distortion, and deformation/folding of the limp material. Geometric, static, and dynamic analyses of the system will be performed, and grasp planning methods will be developed to derive and synthesize stable grasp configurations. A sensor-based hierarchical control system will be developed to control the operation of the reconfigurable gripper system. Grasp stability and overall system performance will be evaluated. Limp material manipulation is a challenging area of research in which the progress has been slow thus far. The research has the potential of significantly advancing the present robotic technology for handling of soft goods and flexible objects.
