Flexirigid, a novel two phase flexible gripper

This paper introduces a novel grasping mechanism that combines caging and force closure approaches in order to grasp an object. The main advantage of the gripper is its adaptability to various object shapes and sizes with low DOF. The two DOF gripper takes advantage of two tendon driven trunks. Inspired from the continuum manipulator concept, the trunks do not include discrete joints and rather an elastomer plays the role of the joints. The tendon driven trunks in the first phase of grasping act as rigid links and in the second phase act as flexible mechanisms. Two prototype of the gripper are developed, tested and evaluated. The underactuated prototypes showed a very good adaptability to different object shapes and sizes.