Vortex-Induced Torque in Grasping Soft Objects: Influence of Geometry and Pneumatic Parameters

This research investigates vortex-induced torque during the grasping of compliant objects using vortex grippers. The study quantifies how supply pressure, tangential nozzle diameter, surface geometry, and curvature affect rotational interaction. Results indicate that increasing the tangential nozzle diameter enhances torque sensitivity to supply pressure rather than uniformly increasing torque. Dome-concave surfaces generate substantially greater torque than dome-convex or cylindrical surfaces, with the strongest response observed in dome-concave configurations matching object geometry well. Gaussian Process Regression demonstrated the best predictive performance for estimating vortex-induced torque from pneumatic and geometric parameters, providing a basis for dexterous manipulation of soft objects.