Application of Meta-Heuristic Optimization Techniques for Design Optimization of a Robotic Gripper

1. Introduction

Industrial robots are the key player responsible for meeting the high-quality product and also responsible for meeting the mass production demand. Industrial robots are consisting of the interconnected link and the end effector. According to the types of need, the end effector can be changed such as for grasping gripper is mounted on the end effector, and for welding operation welding gun can be attached. Some of the major industries where industrial robots are successfully integrated into the production and play a crucial role to meet the high-quality product for the customer are the automobile, aircraft, and micro-nano fabrication industry. Industrial robots are connected with the gripper for grasping the object. Industrial robotic grippers are the specialized tool developed for performing a particular type of objects. The gripper is designed for grasping a specific size, shape, and weight of an object. Different types of the robotic gripper are developed depending on the types of the object to be grasped and operated by a different medium like pneumatic, electrical, magnetic, and hydraulic. Most of the industrial grippers used for the material handling operations are two finger gripper operated by pneumatic pressure. The two-finger gripper has been heavily used for the material handling operation due to the design simplicity and less development cost. Robot gripper in the automated material handling process plays an excellent role in enhancing the performance of the systems, so the design of the robot gripper needs greater importance in the automated material handling systems. Grippers are designed for a unique and pre-specified work in the industrial applications. While designing the gripper, it is necessary to keep in mind that what is the size, weight, types of material of the object to be grasped by the gripper. For ensuring the financial and practical success of the autonomous grasping system selecting the most suitable gripper necessary, hence the designer's sole purpose is to design and built an optimal gripper mechanism for efficient grasping performance.