Viko 2.0: a hierarchical gecko-inspired adhesive gripper with visuotactile sensor

Robotic grippers with visuotactile sensors have access to rich tactile information for grasping tasks but encounter difficulty in partially encompassing large objects with sufficient grip force. While hierarchical gecko-inspired adhesives are a potential technique for bridging performance gaps, they require a large contact area for efficient usage. In this work, we present a new version of an adaptive gecko gripper called Viko 2.0 that effectively combines the advantage of adhesives and visuotactile sensors. Compared with a non-hierarchical structure, a hierarchical structure with a multi-material design achieves approximately a 1.5 times increase in normal adhesion and double in contact area. The integrated visuotactile sensor captures a deformation image of the hierarchical structure and provides a real-time measurement of contact area, shear force, and incipient slip detection at 24 Hz. The gripper is implemented on a robotic arm to demonstrate an adaptive grasping pose based on contact area, and grasps objects with a wide range of geometries and textures.