Soft robotic grippers and hands offer adaptability, lightweight construction, and enhanced safety in human-robot interactions. In this study, we introduce vacuum-actuated soft robotic finger joints to overcome their limitations in stiffness, response, and load-carrying capability. Our design-optimized through parametric design and three-dimensional (3D) printing-achieves high stiffness using vacuum pressure and a buckling mechanism for large bending angles (>90°) and rapid response times (0.24 s). We develop a theoretical model and nonlinear finite-element simulations to validate the experimental results and provide valuable insights into the underlying mechanics and visualization of the deformation and stress field. We showcase versatile applications of the buckling joints: a three-finger gripper with a large lifting ratio (∼96), a five-finger robotic hand capable of replicating human gestures and adeptly grasping objects of various characteristics in static and dynamic scenarios, and a planar-crawling robot carrying loads 30 times its weight at 0.89 body length per second (BL/s). In addition, a jellyfish-inspired robot crawls in circular pipes at 0.47 BL/s. By enhancing soft robotic grippers' functionality and performance, our study expands their applications and paves the way for innovation through 3D-printed multifunctional buckling joints.

中文翻译：

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通过三维打印的多功能屈曲接头，增强软机器人抓手、手和爬行机器人的多功能性和性能。


柔软的机器人抓手和手在人机交互中提供适应性、轻质结构和增强的安全性。在本研究中，我们引入了真空驱动的软机器人指关节，以克服它们在刚度、响应和承载能力方面的限制。我们的设计通过参数化设计和三维 （3D） 打印进行优化，使用真空压力和屈曲机构实现高刚度，以实现大弯曲角度 （>90°） 和快速响应时间 （0.24 s）。我们开发了理论模型和非线性有限元仿真，以验证实验结果，并为基本力学以及变形和应力场的可视化提供有价值的见解。我们展示了屈曲关节的多种应用：具有大提升比 （∼96） 的三指抓手、能够在静态和动态场景中复制人类手势并熟练抓取各种特性物体的五指机械手，以及以每秒 0.89 体长 （BL/s） 承载 30 倍于其重量的负载的平面爬行机器人。此外，一个受水母启发的机器人以 0.47 BL/s 的速度在圆形管道中爬行。通过增强软机器人抓手的功能和性能，我们的研究扩展了它们的应用，并通过 3D 打印的多功能屈曲接头为创新铺平了道路。