Yongchong Gu1, 2,
Haitao Lin1,
Yanwei Fu1, 2
1Fudan University, China.
2Shanghai Innovation Institute, China.
Correspondence to: yongchonggu22@m.fudan.edu.cn and yanweifu@fudan.edu.cn.
This paper presents TransSoft, a novel soft robotic hand with a reconfigurable design for grasping objects of varying properties. While recent soft robotic hands have improved grasping capabilities, they often struggle with a limited range of manipulable object categories and tasks due to hardware constraints. TransSoft addresses these limitations with a scalable, low-cost, and highly adaptable structure that significantly expands the diversity of graspable objects and executable tasks. Unlike previous designs, TransSoft features a unique kinematic structure that enhances radial reconfigurability, allowing it to adjust grasping strategies dynamically based on object size, shape, and material properties. The hand is cost-effective, built from off-the-shelf components in three hours for just $200. We evaluated TransSoft through extensive real-world grasping experiments, and the results demonstrate its superior adaptability and grasping performance. Supplementary materials, including design details and experiment results, are available on our project website.
Examples of the TransSoft grasping diverse objects. By adjusting the finger length, gripper width, and grasping modes, we demonstrate the versatility of TransSoft in grasping objects of different sizes, shapes, and materials.
The movement of the three fingers: (a) centripetal, (b) claw, (c) centrifugal, (d) reverse claw, (e) narrow hook, and (f) wide hook.