Robotic gripper

A method for configuring a robotic gripper, the method comprising:

• operating the robotic gripper comprising a plurality of finger modules and a plurality of displacement mechanisms, the finger modules removably connected to a body of the robotic gripper;
• engaging each finger module with a respective displacement mechanism;
• arranging the finger modules for gripping an object, each finger module comprising a finger actuator cooperative with the other finger actuators for gripping the object;
• and
• moving, using the respective displacement mechanisms, one or more finger modules to adjust their arrangement on the body, thereby configuring the robotic gripper for gripping the object.

A method for handling objects with a robotic gripper, the method comprising:

• capturing visual data of the objects arranged at a first location using an imaging device, the visual data comprising colour image data and point cloud data;
• detecting the objects based on the colour image data and a trained image classifier;
• selecting one or more detected objects based on the point cloud data to be handled by the robotic gripper;
• constructing a 3D representation for each selected object;
• communicating the 3D representations to the robotic gripper for determining grip configurations to handle each selected object;
• computing trajectories for the robotic gripper to move between the first location and a second location;
• transferring, using the robotic gripper and the respective grip configurations, the selected objects along the computed trajectories from the first location to the second location,
• wherein the selection of objects and transferring of objects are processed concurrently in a multithreaded computer process.

A finger actuator comprising:

• a resilient element for stiffening the finger actuator;
• and
• a cover plate and an inflatable channel arranged at a proximal section of the finger actuator, the resilient element disposed between the cover plate and inflatable channel,
• wherein upon inflation of the channel, the inflated channel presses the resilient element against the cover plate, thereby stiffening the finger actuator;
• and
• wherein upon actuation and bending of the finger actuator, the resilient element moves towards a distal section of the finger actuator, the inflated channel preventing returning of the resilient element, thereby locking the bent finger actuator.

A method for locking a bending profile of a finger actuator, the method comprising:

• inflating a proximal portion of a fluidic channel of the finger actuator, the proximal fluidic channel portion arranged at a proximal section of the finger actuator;
• upon inflation of the proximal fluidic channel portion, pressing a resilient element against a cover plate arranged at the proximal section, the resilient element disposed between the cover plate and the proximal fluidic channel portion;
• stiffening the finger actuator upon said pressing of the resilient element against the cover plate;
• inflating a distal portion of the fluidic channel to actuate the finger actuator, the distal fluidic channel portion arranged at a distal section of the finger actuator;
• upon actuation of the finger actuator, bending the finger actuator and moving the resilient element towards the distal section;
• and
• preventing returning of the resilient element by the inflated proximal fluidic channel portion, thereby locking the bent finger actuator.