Multibody Simulation of an Underactuated Gripper for Sustainable Waste Sorting

The waste disposal is a fundamental issue for the planet’s health, as the inevitable accumulation of waste represents a serious threat that endangers our environment. In this context, devices that can facilitate activities in the disposal of waste allow to meet some of the 17 goals defined in the “Sustainable Development Agenda”. The Sustainable Development Goals are calls to action for all countries to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. In this paper, a multibody model is proposed for an underactuated gripper dedicated to sorting operations in the waste industry to evaluate grasping operations with particular attention to the implemented contact models. The design of the gripper was previously proposed but, in this paper, simulations are carried out for studying the grasping behavior proposing different contact models implemented and developed in Simscape Multibody. Results obtained from some simulations are presented and discussed. The studied gripper has the function to protect the operators in the waste industry during waste handling operations, and for this reason the topic of this paper is oriented at the achievement of SDG3 and SDG8 promoting health and well-being of human workers due to a safe and decent work. Moreover, the enhancement of the waste industry in terms of waste recycling and improved waste management helps to build resilient infrastructure and promote fair, sustainable, and responsible industrialization, reducing the impact of waste on the environment and human health and promoting a circular economy in compliance with SDG9 and SDG12.