Magnetic Tactile-Driven Soft Actuator for Intelligent Grasping and Firmness Evaluation

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Du, Chengjin, Bernabei, Federico, Du, Zhengyin, Decherchi, Sergio, Preti, Matteo Lo, Beccai, Lucia
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author Du, Chengjin
Bernabei, Federico
Du, Zhengyin
Decherchi, Sergio
Preti, Matteo Lo
Beccai, Lucia
author_facet Du, Chengjin
Bernabei, Federico
Du, Zhengyin
Decherchi, Sergio
Preti, Matteo Lo
Beccai, Lucia
contents Soft robots are powerful tools for manipulating delicate objects, yet their adoption is hindered by two gaps: the lack of integrated tactile sensing and sensor signal distortion caused by actuator deformations. This paper addresses these challenges by introducing the SoftMag actuator: a magnetic tactile-sensorized soft actuator. Unlike systems relying on attached sensors or treating sensing and actuation separately, SoftMag unifies them through a shared architecture while confronting the mechanical parasitic effect, where deformations corrupt tactile signals. A multiphysics simulation framework models this coupling, and a neural-network-based decoupling strategy removes the parasitic component, restoring sensing fidelity. Experiments including indentation, quasi-static and step actuation, and fatigue tests validate the actuator's performance and decoupling effectiveness. Building upon this foundation, the system is extended into a two-finger SoftMag gripper, where a multi-task neural network enables real-time prediction of tri-axial contact forces and position. Furthermore, a probing-based strategy estimates object firmness during grasping. Validation on apricots shows a strong correlation (Pearson r over 0.8) between gripper-estimated firmness and reference measurements, confirming the system's capability for non-destructive quality assessment. Results demonstrate that combining integrated magnetic sensing, learning-based correction, and real-time inference enables a soft robotic platform that adapts its grasp and quantifies material properties. The framework offers an approach for advancing sensorized soft actuators toward intelligent, material-aware robotics.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_00907
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Magnetic Tactile-Driven Soft Actuator for Intelligent Grasping and Firmness Evaluation
Du, Chengjin
Bernabei, Federico
Du, Zhengyin
Decherchi, Sergio
Preti, Matteo Lo
Beccai, Lucia
Robotics
Soft robots are powerful tools for manipulating delicate objects, yet their adoption is hindered by two gaps: the lack of integrated tactile sensing and sensor signal distortion caused by actuator deformations. This paper addresses these challenges by introducing the SoftMag actuator: a magnetic tactile-sensorized soft actuator. Unlike systems relying on attached sensors or treating sensing and actuation separately, SoftMag unifies them through a shared architecture while confronting the mechanical parasitic effect, where deformations corrupt tactile signals. A multiphysics simulation framework models this coupling, and a neural-network-based decoupling strategy removes the parasitic component, restoring sensing fidelity. Experiments including indentation, quasi-static and step actuation, and fatigue tests validate the actuator's performance and decoupling effectiveness. Building upon this foundation, the system is extended into a two-finger SoftMag gripper, where a multi-task neural network enables real-time prediction of tri-axial contact forces and position. Furthermore, a probing-based strategy estimates object firmness during grasping. Validation on apricots shows a strong correlation (Pearson r over 0.8) between gripper-estimated firmness and reference measurements, confirming the system's capability for non-destructive quality assessment. Results demonstrate that combining integrated magnetic sensing, learning-based correction, and real-time inference enables a soft robotic platform that adapts its grasp and quantifies material properties. The framework offers an approach for advancing sensorized soft actuators toward intelligent, material-aware robotics.
title Magnetic Tactile-Driven Soft Actuator for Intelligent Grasping and Firmness Evaluation
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.00907