As part of the activities of Spoke 3 of RAISE, dedicated to the development of bioinspired solutions for sustainability, Chengjin Du, student fellow in the Soft BioRobotics Perception research line at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), participated as a speaker in the workshop Emerging Paradigms in Soft Manipulation.
The event took place on April 23, 2025, in Lausanne, Switzerland, during the RoboSoft 2025 – 8th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Soft Robotics. In his talk, entitled Sensorizing Soft Actuators Enabling Intelligent Grasping and Fruit Evaluation, Chengjin Du presented the most significant results of the project Soft Gripper for Fruit Monitoring and Sorting, developed within Project 5 of Spoke 3 under the supervision of Lucia Beccai, Principal Investigator of the Soft BioRobotics Perception Lab at IIT.
The project addresses one of the key challenges in the agri-food sector: the automated handling and monitoring of post-harvest fruit and vegetable products using intelligent soft robotic technologies.
The developed system, known as the SoftMag Gripper, is a fully integrated soft end-effector that combines pneumatic actuation with magnetic-based tactile sensors. It enables adaptive grasping and real-time evaluation of fruit firmness. During the presentation, Du illustrated the entire development process of the device, from materials and system design to the integration of sensing and actuation, and the application of machine learning algorithms for tactile data interpretation.
The workshop brought together researchers and industry representatives working to bridge the gap between laboratory-developed experimental solutions and their real-world applications. Special attention was given to identifying best practices for technology transfer in the field of soft robotic manipulation, with a focus on operational efficiency and adaptability to complex production environments.
Chengjin Du’s presentation highlighted how the integrated approach adopted by Spoke 3 of RAISE provides a tangible contribution to the development of intelligent tools for sustainable automation. The ability of the SoftMag Gripper to adapt to deformable objects and provide real-time perceptual data opens new perspectives for the adoption of advanced robotics in agricultural and food processing contexts.
Participation in RoboSoft 2025 reaffirms the active role of RAISE and Spoke 3 in promoting technological innovation by enhancing the expertise of young researchers and fostering dialogue within the international scientific community.
