To design a general-purpose assembly robot system that can handle objects of various shapes, we propose a soft jig capable of deforming according to the shape of assembly parts. The  soft jig is based on a jamming gripper used for robot manipulation as a general-purpose robotic gripper developed in the field of soft robotics. The soft jig has a flexible membrane made of silicone , which has a high friction, elongation, and contraction rate for keeping parts fixed. The inside of the membrane is filled with glass beads to achieve a jamming transition.  The usability of the soft jig was evaluated from the viewpoint of the versatility and fixing performance for various shapes and postures of parts in assembly operations .
To design a general-purpose assembly robot system that can handle objects of various shapes, we propose a soft jig that fits to the shapes of assembly parts. The functionality of the soft jig is based on a jamming gripper developed in the field of soft robotics. The soft jig has a bag covered with a malleable silicone membrane , which has high friction, elongation, and contraction rates for keeping parts fixed. The bag is filled with glass beads to achieve a jamming transition. We propose a method to configure parts-fixing on the soft jig based on contact relations, reachable directions, and the center of gravity of the parts that are fixed on the jig. The usability of the soft jig was evaluated in terms of the fixing performance and versatility for various shapes and postures of parts .
R
capable of deforming according to the shape
that fits to the shapes
A
functionality of the
D
used for robot manipulation as a general-purpose robotic gripper
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flexible membrane made of silicone
bag covered with a malleable silicone membrane
D
a
R
rate
rates
R
inside of the membrane
bag
A
We propose a method to configure parts-fixing on the soft jig based on contact relations, reachable directions, and the center of gravity of the parts that are fixed on the jig.
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from the viewpoint of the versatility and fixing performance
in terms of the fixing performance and versatility
D
in assembly operations