Singapore engineers build robotic fingers with delicate grip

Touted to be able to grip objects ranging from soft and delicate to bulky and heavy, the robotics system is designed to meet the needs of ... 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Go Join/LogIn Account Preferences Community Newsletters LogOut Writtenby EileenYu,Contributor EileenYu Contributor EileenYubegancoveringtheITindustrywhenAsynchronousTransferModewasstillhipande-commercewasthenewbuzzword.CurrentlyanindependentbusinesstechnologyjournalistandcontentspecialistbasedinSingapore,shehasover20yearsofindustryexperiencewithvariouspublicationsincludingZDNet,IDG,andSingaporePressHoldings. FullBio PostedinByTheWay onDecember28,2021 |Topic:Innovation EngineersfromNationalUniversityofSingapore(NUS)havebuiltaroboticssystemtheysaycangripvariousobjects,rangingfromsoftanddelicatetobulkyandheavy.Designedtobeconfigurable,therobotichandistoutedtoaddresstheneedsofsectorssuchasverticalfarming,foodassembly,andfast-movingconsumergoodspackaging,andwitha23%improvementinefficiency.Theseindustriesincreasinglywereautomatingmoreoftheiroperations,butcurrentlyrequiredmanualhandlingforsomeprocesses,accordingtoNUS.Thehumanhand'snaturaldexterityremainednecessaryforthesetasks. RaveYeow,associateprofessorfromNUSAdvancedRoboticsCentreandDepartmentofBiomedicalEngineering,said:"Anobject'sshape,texture,weight,andsizeaffecthowwechoosetogripthem.Thisisoneofthemainreasonswhymanyindustriesstillheavilyrelyonhumanlabourtopackageandhandledelicateitems." Singaporeputsbudgetfocusontransformation,innovation Aftertiltinglastyear'sbudgettowards'emergencysupport'inlightoftheglobalpandemic,Singapore'sgovernmentwillspendSG$24billion($18.1billion)overthenextthreeyearstohelplocalbusinessesinnovateandbuildcapabilitiesneededtotakethemthroughthenextphaseoftransformation. Toaddressthis,theroboticgripperscanbebuiltwiththreeorfour3D-printedfingersthataresoftandflexibleandsitonareconfigurablebase.Thefingersareair-drivenandarmedwithalockingmechanismthatenablesthelevelofstiffnesstobeadjusted. Theroboticsystemisguidedbycomputervisionanddeeplearningtechnologies,soitcanidentifythetypeofobjectsanddetermineitsorientation.Itthenautomaticallydecideshowitcanbestpickandplacetheobjectstoreducetheneedforheavyhumanintervention. "Ourhybridroboticgrippertechnologyrevolutionisestraditionalpick-and-placetasksbyofferingadvancedcapabilitiesthatallowrobotstosafelyinteractwithdelicateitemsofvariousshapes,sizesandstiffness,justlikethehumanhand,"saidYeow,wholedtheproject. AccordingtoNUS,thegrippersystemisconfigurable"ondemand"andcanbefittedwiththreegripoptionsthatcatertodifferentuses.TheGourmetGrip,forinstance,isfitforgranulartaskssuchashandlingdelicatebite-sizedfooditemsorproductsthatarepronetodamage,includingtofu,andpackingthemintotakeoutboxes.Describedasa"soft-handedmode",thisoptioncansupportdifferentgrippossesandoperatewithinvariousspacerestrictions. Mountedonanindustrialroboticarm,GourmetGripcouldpickandplacefooditemsataspeedthatwascomparabletoahuman's,andwithconsistencyroundtheclock,NUSsaid.Theuniversityaddedthatthissystemmodedelivereda23%improvementingrippingefficiencycomparedtoothercommerciallyavailablegrippers,holdingitemsfasterandwithhigherprecision.GourmetGripcurrentlyisabletopickupmorethan50typesoffooditems,includingpudding,slicedcakes,andfruits.Anothergripperoption,UniversalSoftGripper(UnisoGrip)issuitableforhandlingpackagedgoodsalongassemblylines,inparticular,whentheseproductsareatthefinalstagesofbeingpackedintoboxesforshipping.Thisoption,whichisexpectedtobethemostflexibleintermsoftaskapplication,canbe substantiallyexpandedinitsgriprange,NUSsaid.ThesystemislargercomparedtoGourmetGripandhandleitemsthatmeasureupto30cmwideandweighupto3kg. UnisoGripalsohasrotatablesoftgripperfingersthataresuitablefordelicateproductsandavacuumsuctioncupthatenablesthesystemtonavigatetighterspacesorawkwardlyplacedprojects,suchasthecornerofatotebin.Todate,itcanpickupmorethan30typesofconsumergoodsincludingcoffeepowderpacks,refillabledetergentpacks,andbottleddrinks.CustomersalsocanbuildagrippingsystembasedonbothGourmetGripandUnisoGrip,andfullycustomisedtotheirbusinessrequirementsandspaceconstraints,accordingtoNUS.Infact,asystemwastailoredforSingapore-basedmanufacturer,PeopleBeeHoonFactory,whichproducesricevermicelli.ItcommissionedtheNUSteamtobuildasystemthatwasoptimisedforpackingricevermicellipacketsintocartonboxes.PeopleBeeHoonFactor'sdirectorDesmondGohsaid:"Mostofourexistingstaffarematureworkers,sowesoughttotapnewtechnologythatcaneasetheworkloadofourexistingstaff,whilesimultaneouslyboostingtheirproductivity.Weselectedthistechnologybecauseitisabletomeetourpurposeandprovidesflexibilityfordifferentdeploymentsthatwerequire."TheNUSengineers,throughtheirstartupRoPlus(RO+),nowarelookingtocommercialisetheproduct.Theyarepitchingtoofferpotentialcommercialpartnersvariousoptionsofimplementingtheroboticsystem,eitherbundledwitharoboticarmorsoldindividuallytocustomersthatalreadyowntheirowncommercialrobotarms,whichthencanbemountedtothegrippersystem. Acompleteproductofferingcomprisingthegripper,roboticarm,computervisioncapabilities,andconveyorsystemalsowillbeavailable. TheNUSengineerscurrentlyareworkingtoexpandthesystem'sabilitytorecognisemoreitems,usingmachinelearningandanonlinelibrarytotrainthesystem.RO+isfundedundertheNUSGraduateResearchInnovationProgramme,whichseedsstartupsfoundedbytheuniversity'sacademicstaffandresearchers.TheteamincludesresearchersLowJinHuat,KhinPhoneMay,andChenChao-Yu,aswellasundergraduatestudentHanQianQian.ResearchthatdrovethegrippersystemalsowassupportedbySingapore'sNationalRoboticsProgrammeandAgencyforScience,TechnologyandResearch.RELATEDCOVERAGESingaporelaunchesnationalAIschemes,adds$133MinvestmenttoresearchSingaporestartupsneedtoidentifyrealbusinessissuesSingaporeputsbudgetfocusontransformation,innovationSingaporeresearchersdevelopbandagethatcanwirelesslyassesswoundsSingaporewantsco-investorstopump$112MintodeeptechstartupsSingaporeputsintellectualpropertyfocusoninnovation,intangibleassets Singapore | Startups | AI&Robotics ShowComments LOGINTOCOMMENT MyProfile LogOut |CommunityGuidelines JoinDiscussionfor:Singaporeengineersbuildroboticfingers... 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