MultiGrainGripper: Enhancing FinRay Soft Grippers to Grasp Granular Material

Silvia Terrile; Loong Yi Lee; Jonathan M Rossiter

doi:10.1109/RoboSoft63089.2025.11020847

MultiGrainGripper: Enhancing FinRay Soft Grippers to Grasp Granular Material

Silvia Terrile^*
, Loong Yi Lee
, Jonathan M Rossiter

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Contribution (Conference Proceeding)

1 Citation (Scopus)

45 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

FinRay grippers are among the most common soft grippers. Their structure allows them to adapt to the shape of the objects they come into contact with. However, due to its design, FinRay grippers have not been able to grasp granular materials. This paper presents a modified FinRay gripper called MultiGrainGripper that can perform the same grasping tasks as any other FinRay but also grasp granular material (from sugar to flour). This enhanced functionality was realised with by adding a small cavity to the end of each fin. When the MultiGrainGripper is closed, two haves of the cavity come together to form a closed chamber, wrapping around granular material and small items that otherwise would not be grippable. The soft MultiGrainGripper was modelled in finite elements to explore the effect of different designs on the properties of the finger compared to a standard FinRay of the same dimension. Experiments were conducted, grasping a wide range of objects and granular materials. Results show that the MultiGrainGripper can grasp a wider range of objects, from large structures (~10 cm) to a pinch of salt (granules ~100 μm).

Original language	English
Title of host publication	2025 IEEE 8th International Conference on Soft Robotics (Robosoft)
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Number of pages	6
ISBN (Electronic)	9798331520205
ISBN (Print)	9798331520212
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/RoboSoft63089.2025.11020847
Publication status	Published - 4 Jun 2025
Event	8th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Soft Robotics - Lausanne, Switzerland Duration: 23 Apr 2025 → 26 Apr 2025 https://robosoft2025.org/

Publication series

Name	IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)
Publisher	IEEE
ISSN (Print)	2769-4526
ISSN (Electronic)	2769-4534

Conference

Conference	8th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Soft Robotics
Abbreviated title	ROBOSOFT 2025
Country/Territory	Switzerland
City	Lausanne
Period	23/04/25 → 26/04/25
Internet address	https://robosoft2025.org/

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Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 IEEE.

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10.1109/RoboSoft63089.2025.11020847

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Accepted author manuscript, 323 KBLicence: CC BY

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Cite this

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title = "MultiGrainGripper: Enhancing FinRay Soft Grippers to Grasp Granular Material",

abstract = "FinRay grippers are among the most common soft grippers. Their structure allows them to adapt to the shape of the objects they come into contact with. However, due to its design, FinRay grippers have not been able to grasp granular materials. This paper presents a modified FinRay gripper called MultiGrainGripper that can perform the same grasping tasks as any other FinRay but also grasp granular material (from sugar to flour). This enhanced functionality was realised with by adding a small cavity to the end of each fin. When the MultiGrainGripper is closed, two haves of the cavity come together to form a closed chamber, wrapping around granular material and small items that otherwise would not be grippable. The soft MultiGrainGripper was modelled in finite elements to explore the effect of different designs on the properties of the finger compared to a standard FinRay of the same dimension. Experiments were conducted, grasping a wide range of objects and granular materials. Results show that the MultiGrainGripper can grasp a wider range of objects, from large structures (\textasciitilde{}10 cm) to a pinch of salt (granules \textasciitilde{}100 μm).",

author = "Silvia Terrile and Lee, \{Loong Yi\} and Rossiter, \{Jonathan M\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 IEEE.; 8th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Soft Robotics, ROBOSOFT 2025 ; Conference date: 23-04-2025 Through 26-04-2025",

year = "2025",

month = jun,

day = "4",

doi = "10.1109/RoboSoft63089.2025.11020847",

language = "English",

isbn = "9798331520212",

series = "IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)",

publisher = "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)",

booktitle = "2025 IEEE 8th International Conference on Soft Robotics (Robosoft)",

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url = "https://robosoft2025.org/",

}

Terrile, S, Lee, LY & Rossiter, JM 2025, MultiGrainGripper: Enhancing FinRay Soft Grippers to Grasp Granular Material. in 2025 IEEE 8th International Conference on Soft Robotics (Robosoft). IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 8th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Soft Robotics, Lausanne, Switzerland, 23/04/25. https://doi.org/10.1109/RoboSoft63089.2025.11020847

MultiGrainGripper: Enhancing FinRay Soft Grippers to Grasp Granular Material. / Terrile, Silvia; Lee, Loong Yi; Rossiter, Jonathan M.
2025 IEEE 8th International Conference on Soft Robotics (Robosoft). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2025. (IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Contribution (Conference Proceeding)

TY - GEN

T1 - MultiGrainGripper

T2 - 8th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Soft Robotics

AU - Terrile, Silvia

AU - Lee, Loong Yi

AU - Rossiter, Jonathan M

PY - 2025/6/4

Y1 - 2025/6/4

N2 - FinRay grippers are among the most common soft grippers. Their structure allows them to adapt to the shape of the objects they come into contact with. However, due to its design, FinRay grippers have not been able to grasp granular materials. This paper presents a modified FinRay gripper called MultiGrainGripper that can perform the same grasping tasks as any other FinRay but also grasp granular material (from sugar to flour). This enhanced functionality was realised with by adding a small cavity to the end of each fin. When the MultiGrainGripper is closed, two haves of the cavity come together to form a closed chamber, wrapping around granular material and small items that otherwise would not be grippable. The soft MultiGrainGripper was modelled in finite elements to explore the effect of different designs on the properties of the finger compared to a standard FinRay of the same dimension. Experiments were conducted, grasping a wide range of objects and granular materials. Results show that the MultiGrainGripper can grasp a wider range of objects, from large structures (~10 cm) to a pinch of salt (granules ~100 μm).

AB - FinRay grippers are among the most common soft grippers. Their structure allows them to adapt to the shape of the objects they come into contact with. However, due to its design, FinRay grippers have not been able to grasp granular materials. This paper presents a modified FinRay gripper called MultiGrainGripper that can perform the same grasping tasks as any other FinRay but also grasp granular material (from sugar to flour). This enhanced functionality was realised with by adding a small cavity to the end of each fin. When the MultiGrainGripper is closed, two haves of the cavity come together to form a closed chamber, wrapping around granular material and small items that otherwise would not be grippable. The soft MultiGrainGripper was modelled in finite elements to explore the effect of different designs on the properties of the finger compared to a standard FinRay of the same dimension. Experiments were conducted, grasping a wide range of objects and granular materials. Results show that the MultiGrainGripper can grasp a wider range of objects, from large structures (~10 cm) to a pinch of salt (granules ~100 μm).

UR - https://robosoft2025.org/

U2 - 10.1109/RoboSoft63089.2025.11020847

DO - 10.1109/RoboSoft63089.2025.11020847

M3 - Conference Contribution (Conference Proceeding)

SN - 9798331520212

T3 - IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)

BT - 2025 IEEE 8th International Conference on Soft Robotics (Robosoft)

PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

Y2 - 23 April 2025 through 26 April 2025

ER -

MultiGrainGripper: Enhancing FinRay Soft Grippers to Grasp Granular Material

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MultiGrainGripper: Enhancing FinRay Soft Grippers to Grasp Granular Material

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