Hybrid Robotic Gripper With Suction and Fully Retractable Claws for Tomato Picking

초록

Robotic grippers for agricultural applications encounter challenges in reliably grasping fruits of varying shapes, particularly in densely clustered environments such as tomato farms. To address these challenges, we propose a novel hybrid robotic gripper that combines a suction module with fully retractable adaptive claws. The gripper primarily utilizes suction to quickly attach to smooth tomato surfaces. When suction alone is insufficient, a linear actuator deploys flexible fingers to passively adjust to the shape of the fruit for stable grasping. The number and length of the fingers are optimized for the tomatoś shape. This retractable design minimizes interference during movement, making it suitable for dense crop environments. The claws were fabricated using 3D printing with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) which offers flexibility and repeatable deformation. To enhance grip performance, the claws are optimized for the tomato surface, enabling effective force distribution and adaptive deformation. The experimental results verified that the optimized finger structure provided stable and gentle grasping under various tomato shapes and conditions. Thus, the proposed gripper is a promising solution for robotic applications involving fruit inspection, sorting, and handling.

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