Novel Variable-Stiffness Robotic Fingers with Built-In Position Feedback

Despite the increasing popularity of soft robotic research, the application of soft robots is hindered by their limited ability to change compliance and acquire force and position feedback. In this article, both the controllability of compliance and the acquisition of position feedback are achieved in soft robotic fingers in the novel design of a three-dimensional (3D)-printed multismart material substrate. The substrate is composed of shape memory polymer (SMP) and conductive elastomer thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). The SMP material is utilized to modulate the finger stiffness through its elastic modulus change around glass transition temperature (Tg). The conductive TPU has two functions: one is to tune SMP temperature by producing Joule heat when electrical power is supplied and the other is to provide position feedback of the finger by utilizing the piezoresistive effect of the conductive TPU. Theoretical modeling of finger position feedback and stiffness modulation are conducted. The theoretical analysis has been experimentally validated by a prototype robotic finger built from the proposed concept.