電界共役流体を用いたマイクログリッパの設計と試作

抄録

Manufacturing and distribution industries handle a lot of kinds products, whose shapes and materials become a wide variety. It is required that the end-effectors of automated systems to be able to work for those numerous products. Jamming grippers can change their shape along the objects, being versatile and easy to operate. On the other hand，it is difficult to miniaturize their entire systems because jamming grippers need vacuum pumps in order to operate pressure. We focus on electro-conjugated fluid (ECF) because it can generate characteristic flow with only electrodes and high voltage. This study proposes a new type of microgripper with a hydraulic power source using a jet flow of ECF. The gripper is integrated power source of ECF into its side for downsizing. Excluding the conductors, the size is width 13 mm and length 26 mm. This paper reports on the design and the results of the performance evaluation．