Press Release
Bio-Inspired Robotics Design Lab Is Honored with the A' Design Award for Bloom Reconfigurable Soft Robotic Gripper in Robotics, Automaton and Automation Design
Bio-Inspired Robotics Design Lab acknowledged for robotics, automaton and automation design by the international grand jury of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 22, 2022 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the A' Design Award in the Robotics, Automaton and Automation Design category for Bloom Reconfigurable Soft Robotic Gripper by Bio-Inspired Robotics Design Lab, designed for Bio-inspired Robotics & Design Laboratory. The award was conferred within the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The A' Design Award Explained
The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
Regarding Bloom Reconfigurable Soft Robotic Gripper
Bloom is a soft robotic gripper designed for automated handling and assembly tasks. The gripper is inspired by the human hand and by the cyclic blooming of the Gallic rose. Bloom is made of silicone and is moved by air pressure. Retractable nails allow precise grasping of thin objects. Foldable petals allow the scooping of granular materials. A flexible palm changes the opening width for wide objects. Low and safe pressures are used to switch between the grasping modes. Bloom can handle delicate items safely close to human workers.
About Bio-Inspired Robotics Design Lab
Our group studies new approaches to design and fabricate actuation, locomotion, and sensing mechanisms for novel robots. Our work is multidisciplinary and focused in three main areas: bio-inspired design, modeling, and advanced fabrication processes. We combine theoretical modeling with laboratory experiments to obtain insights into different dynamic phenomena found in nature. These studies guide our designs of simple and elegant robot mechanisms and their interactions with different environments.
Award Record
This recognition makes Bio-Inspired Robotics Design Lab a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Robotics, Automaton and Automation Design Award
The A' Robotics Design Award is an international robotics design competition recognizing good robotics designs by robotics designers and engineers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to robotics designers, automation engineers, robotics brands and robot manufacturers from all countries. Entries typically include industrial robots, medical robots, agricultural robots, domestic robots, autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots. Awarded robotics designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/robotics
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/137335
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/137335
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!137335
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/326118
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://brd.sutd.edu.sg/
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Bloom Reconfigurable Soft Robotic Gripper
- Function
- Reconfigurable Soft Robotic Gripper
- Category
- Robotics, Automaton and Automation Design
- Discipline
- Service Design
- Industry
- Manufacturing and Innovation
- Colors
- White, Black, Dark Slate Gray, Dark Slate Blue and Dim Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Bio-inspired Robotics & Design Laboratory
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Bio-Inspired Robotics Design Lab
- Country
- Singapore
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2021 - 2022
- Design ID
- #137335
Credits
- Team
- Snehal Jain, Saikrishna Dontu and Joanne Ee Mei Teoh.
- Image Credits
- Snehal Jain Saikrishna Dontu Joanne Ee Mei Teoh Aaron Chooi Pablo Valdivia Y Alvarado
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Bloom is a bio-inspired, pneumatically actuated, shape morphing soft robotic gripper that is capable of on-site rapid workspace reconfigurability. It features passive retractable nails, bi-directional foldable petals, and a flexible palm to adapt to various grasping and manipulation tasks. The ability to rapidly reconfigure grasping workspace on-the-fly allows Bloom to perform assembly tasks consisting of highly varying subtasks, a feat previously not possible using conventional rigid or existing soft grippers.
- Inspiration
- A product of the Bio-Inspired Robotics Design (BRD) Lab at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), Bloom was inspired by both the dexterity of the human hand and the intentional cyclic blooming of the Rosa gallica (Gallic Rose). Mimicking the function of the corpus unguis, (human fingernail) Bloom, can grasp objects as thin as 300 microns, large objects as heavy as 1.4kgs, while being able to scoop objects as small as 1.5 millimeters in radius.
- Research
- Silicone and air are both soft materials and are the main components in this soft gripper. Because of this, Bloom is able to interface with soft objects safely and effectively. Bloom can be used in many circumstances including food preparation and healthcare. Because of its material compliance, it is able to work closely with delicate objects and human coworkers. Thus, narrowing the gap between robots and humans.
- Challenge
- Consumer goods, logistics, and food industries have been benefiting from robotic intervention to meet evolving demands. In such industries, reliable robotic handling of food rely on versatile gripper interfaces with comprehensive and adaptive capabilities. Compared to traditional rigid grippers, Bloom, a state-of-the-art soft gripper utilizes compliant soft actuators made using functional hyperelastic materials, allowing it to grasp a wider range of geometries safely and reliably.
- Realization and Technology
- Design Optimization using FEA, 3D Printing, Silicone Moulding & Casting
- Operation and Interaction
- Bloom features retractable nails to help in precision grasping of small and thin objects. An optimized bi-directional flap design allows for scooping actions for granular objects such as grains, jelly or scrambled eggs. A multi-material palm design allows for changing Bloom’s aperture for wide objects. Bloom utilizes low, safe pressures (-80kPa to 60kPa) to switch between and operate the various grasping modes.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project concluded in February 2021, at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)
- Keywords
- Soft Robotics, Soft Robots, Bio-Inspired Design, Biomimicry, Robotics, Material Science
