MAGNETIC ASSEMBLY OF SOFT ROBOTS WITH HARD COMPONENTS

Reconfigurable soft robotic actuators with hard components are described. Magnetic attraction is used to couple flexible molded bodies capable of actuation upon pressurization with other flexible molded bodies and/or with hard components (e.g., frames and connectors) to form a seal for fluidic commu...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors KWOK, Sen, W, SHEPHERD, Robert, F, MORIN, Stephen, A, SO, Ju-Hee, MOSADEGH, Bobak, WHITESIDES, George, M
Format Patent
LanguageEnglish
French
German
Published 28.02.2018
Subjects
CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
COMBINED OPERATIONS
HAND TOOLS
MACHINE TOOLS
MANIPULATORS
METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
OTHER WORKING OF METAL
PERFORMING OPERATIONS
PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS
TRANSPORTING
UNIVERSAL MACHINE TOOLS
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Summary:Reconfigurable soft robotic actuators with hard components are described. Magnetic attraction is used to couple flexible molded bodies capable of actuation upon pressurization with other flexible molded bodies and/or with hard components (e.g., frames and connectors) to form a seal for fluidic communication and cooperative actuation. Pneumatic de-coupling chambers built into the hard components to de-couple the hard components from the magnetically-coupled soft molded bodies are described. The use of magnetic self-alignment coupling and pneumatic de-coupling allows for the remote assembly and disassembly of complex structures involving hard and soft components. The magnetic coupling allows for rapid, reversible reconfiguration of hybrid soft-hard robots for repair, testing new designs, and carrying out new tasks.
Bibliography:Application Number: EP20140759711