Compliant Mechanisms (CMs), along with Soft Robotic devices formed therewith, may be defined as engineering systems achieving force and motions transmission via the deflection of flexible members. CMs have increasingly gained a strong foothold in the scientific arena owing to their hinge-less nature, shock resistance, potential single-piece manufacturability, safety in human-machine interaction, minimal maintenance requirements, and adaptability to work in unstructured environments. In parallel, current advances in the production of inherently compliant sensory-motor apparatus, as well as progresses in the development of robust control methods, are paving the way to practical CM adoption in a large variety of engineering fields, here including healthcare, manufacturing, inspection/maintenance, and agrifood. In light of these considerations, the objective of the present talk is to critically discuss, on the basis of our experience, engineering methods and related Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) tools allowing for the (automatic) computation of accurate CM models and for the shape optimization of complex-shaped CMs comprising out-of-plane displacements, distributed compliance, and non-linear materials. Within this scenario, a strong integration between different design tools is desirable to improve the work of robotics engineers, reducing the number of errors and speeding up the design process. We hence present a strong integration between 3D computer-aided design models and multidomain simulations applied to the design of compliant, tendon-driven, robotic hands/grippers. The integrated design framework is employed to optimize: i) a four-fingered reconfigurable gripper comprising highly deformable components; ii) a compliant anthropomorphic hand/wrist system for possible usage in humanoid robotics.
Giovanni Berselli
Giovanni Berselli is Full Professor and Chair of Design Methods for Industrial Engineering at the University of Genova, Italy, where he is the Head of the Mechanical Computer-Aided Engineering (M-CAE) Lab. He is also Affiliated Researcher with the Advanced Robotics Department at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT). Currently, Prof. Berselli is the Referent for the Industry 4.0 Curriculum for the National Doctorate in Robotics and Intelligent Machines and the Coordinator of the PhD Degree in Mechanical, Energy and Management Engineering at the University of Genova. Prof. Berselli is a Fellow of the ASME and a Senior Member of the IEEE as well as the Chair of ASME Italy Section. He is also the past Chair of the ASME Technical Committee on Modeling, Dynamics, and Control of Adaptive Systems. He held a Excellence Fellowships at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), at the German Aerospace Agency (DLR), and at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. He has been a Visiting & Affiliated Scientist at Harvard University & Massachusetts General Hospital, at MIT, at the University of Twente, at Monash University, Australia, and with the School of Advanced Studies of the University of Navarra, Spain. Within his department, he is the Coordinator of Research Activities. He has authored more than 280 publications (including patents) in peer-reviewed international journals or conference proceedings and edited 2 international books. Recipient of several IEEE, ASME, and IFToMM Best Paper Awards, he has been Senior Editor and Technical Editor for IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, and he is currently Associate Editor for the ASME Transaction – Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics, Robotica (Cambridge University Press), International Journal of Interactive Design & Manufacturing, Mechanical Science, and Machines, as well as Scientific Committee member or Associate Editor of several international conferences and associations. He has been General Chair of the Mechanisms and Robotic Conference at ASME IDETC 2024, of IEEE/ASME AIM2026, and of the 3rd Doctoral Summer School in Robotics and Intelligent Machines (DRIMS2), as well as Local and Financial Chair for IEEE/ASME MESA. To date, Prof. Berselli has coordinated/participated in numerous national/transnational projects (funded by competitive calls) as well as conventions with companies, managing (as Principal Investigator) roughly 4.3M. He is CEO for the spin-off company Curl Robotics S.r.l. based in Italy, and Technical Advisor for the company PHM Technology, based in Melbourne. Prof. Berselli’s scientific activity is focused on the modelling, control and experimental evaluation of: i) robot hands & grippers; ii) compliant/soft mechanisms and actuators for safe human-robot interaction; iii) energy-aware industrial robotics.