INTACT-GRIP: An Inflatable Tactile Gripper for Soft Manipulation and High-Resolution Texture Mapping

Abstract

Robotic manipulation, especially of fragile and irregularly shaped objects, remains a significant challenge due to the need for both adaptability and precise tactile feedback. In this work, we introduce INTACT-GRIP, a robotic gripper that combines soft manipulation and high-resolution tactile sensing for inflation-based soft grasping. INTACT-GRIP integrates inflatable balloons with vision-based tactile feedback, enabling fingertip stiffness modulation for stable and damage-free manipulation of fragile and irregularly shaped objects. To evaluate its performance, we conducted a series of qualitative and quantitative experiments. In these experiments, inflation pressure was manually controlled by a human operator, who adjusted and stopped the pressure based on real-time visual feedback of the captured texture features. The results demonstrate the system’s ability to safely conform to fragile and irregularly shaped objects with varying stiffness, enabling pressure-controlled grasping and high-resolution tactile imaging during contact. Furthermore, a case study with a robotic arm highlighted the system’s potential as a versatile solution for precise and soft manipulation of delicate objects, supported by pressure-adjustable fingertips and real-time visual–tactile feedback.