Drone-ready robotic gripper powered by shape memory alloys

For this project, the goal is to design a flexure-based gripper mechanism actuated by a Shape-Memory Alloy spring (SMA) and to be mounted on a drone. While being complex to control precisely and having a very small bandwith, SMA actuators show a formidable strength density which can be put to great use on drone applications where each gram counts. The flexure-based aspect of the mechanism will complement greatly the qualities of the actuator by its reliability, reduced part count and compatibility with additive manufacturing techniques for light polymers. The stroke of SMA actuators is often in the range of 1 to 10mm whereas, during missions, the gripper should enable the drone to grasp small objects approximately 1 to 100mm in size. Therefore, the mechanism will also need to provide some sort of stroke amplification while staying relatively compact.