Underactuated embedded constraints gripper for grasping in toxic environments

In this paper a soft gripper is proposed and designed to achieve some of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) described by United Nations (UN) and in particular SDG3, SDG8, SDG 9 and SDG 12. In fact, the presented gripper is conceived for application in the waste industry for helping or partially replacing human operations which could lead to risks or hazards for human health. The device can artificially reproduce the action of human hands allowing a more sustainable work, focusing the attention on worker’s health. Also the design characteristics are oriented to sustainability by using eco-friendly materials. Furthermore, the device is an underactuated soft gripper with modular elements and without sensors. There are no electronic components, and the damageable and non-recyclable parts are minimized. After the description of gripper and mechanical analysis, three different configurations (wearable, with extension and mounted on a cobot) are presented where it is possible to notice that the ends of the gripper (the fingers) are far from the most delicate and less recyclable components such as the motor. Thus, thanks to the modularity of the fingers, it is easy to replace damaged fingers: they have a lower environmental impact than electronic components. In this way, the presented project falls in “the circular design for sustainability” in robotics.