The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec)
Online ISSN : 2424-3124
2023
Session ID : 1A2-I08
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Gluing-free soft gripper for cake topping
Madoka MIYASHITATakahiro MATSUNOZhongkui WANG*Shinichi HIRAI
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Abstract

This paper focuses on cake topping performed by a soft gripper. In recent years, robots have been introduced into food factories for improving productivity and reducing labor costs. Robots are actively used in various manufacturing processes. Unfortunately, it is currently difficult to introduce robots into topping, which is a delicate task dealing with soft food materials. Therefore, this research challenges topping processes of cakes using robotic soft grippers. We fabricated fingers of soft grippers without gluing. Soft gripper fingers were cast in silicone rubber using gelatin as a sacrificial layer. A soft gripper was composed of a pair of soft fingers. A topping experiment was conducted using the fabricated soft grippers. First, we confirmed the usefulness of the soft grippers by conducting a topping experiment using strawberry samples. Next, topping experiments was conducted using real strawberries and cake bases. On the ’nappe’ base with a flat surface, strawberries could be topped straight in a uniform posture. Although the topping was successful on the ’piping’ base with uneven surface, it was found that the posture of the strawberries varied.

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© 2023 The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
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