Design and Evaluation of a Passive Gripper for Remote Manipulation Tasks

This paper describes the design of a gripper in which fingers have a resting position maintained by springs. Fingers can be displaced if the proper forces are applied during the grasping procedure, and the correct path is followed for the releasing. This mechanism solves the constraint of using conventional actuators, which is a common limitation in hazardous environments with a high level of radiation. However, it implies redesigning the objects that will be manipulated. This paper shows in detail the mechanical gripper design, from the study of the already existing solution and modelling, including the kinematic and dynamic models, to the gripper simulation performance and experimental tests with their corresponding conclusions. The origin of this study is related to the maintenance tasks to be performed in the future International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility – Demo Oriented Neutron Source (IFMIF-DONES) facility, where a high level of ionizing radiation is expected even after the shutdown of the accelerator.