Design of a Liquid Jamming Gripper

The design of a universal gripper based on the principle of liquid jamming is presented. Come and hear about this new invention!

Abstract:

The design of a universal gripper based on the principle of liquid jamming is presented. The phase- change behavior of a mineral oil subjected to cooling is used for adaptive gripping and release of odd-shaped objects. The mineral oil is enclosed in a soft, compliant membrane molded into a spherical shape. The membrane easily adapts to the odd shape of the object to be picked up. A thermo-electric cooling system is designed with a conductive spreader immersed in the oil to quickly cool the liquid held in the membrane. Once, the gripper membrane with liquid partially encloses and conforms to the shape of the object it, the liquid is cooled below the phase-change temperature. The liquid freezes and membrane gripper hardens around the object effectively gripping it. The hardware is tested and basic gripping functions on different odd-shaped objects are demonstrated. An invention disclosure has been submitted to the NUS IP office (ILO).

About Madan Pushpakath

Madan Pushpakath is a Senior R&D Manager at Venture Corporation Limited, a company headquartered in Singapore with established capabilities to develop a wide range of leading-edge products and a global provider of technology services, products, and solutions.

He obtained his Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India and worked as a Control system scientist with the Indian Space research Organization (ISRO) for more than 10 years before moving to Singapore.

Madan led the “Dynamics” group at Philips Optical Storage in Singapore responsible for the design and development of DVD read and recording actuators and drives before joining Venture Corporation.

Currently he is leading and managing multiple projects related to complex leading-edge life science instruments from concept design to mass production. He is also pursuing a PhD under the supervision of Prof Ang Marcelo at the National University of Singapore (NUS).