Self-growing throat swab sampling robot imitating chameleon and sampling method thereof

Abstract

The invention provides a chameleon-imitated self-growing throat swab sampling robot, which comprises a robot body, which is formed by self-growing a flexible material in a pneumatic mode, an internal channel communicated with the atmosphere is formed in the robot body, and the throat swab is grabbed and released according to the change of the grabbing length of the throat swab by the internal channel; the driving storage mechanism is connected with the front end of the robot body and is used for storing the flexible material required by the growth of the robot body and providing power for the growth and recovery of the robot body; the pneumatic artificial muscle is located on the surface of the robot body and used for controlling the pose of the tail end of the robot. The tail end executing mechanism is located at the tail end of the robot body and comprises a recycling structure and a data collecting module, and the recycling structure guides the flexible material in a rolling friction mode so as to assist recycling of the robot body. According to the method, the predation process of aiming, launching, swallowing and withdrawing of a chameleon is imitated, the flexibility and conveying characteristics of the self-growing robot are fully utilized, and rapid and safe collection of the throat swab is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of throat swab sampling, and in particular to a chameleon-like self-growing throat swab sampling robot and a sampling method thereof. Background Art

[0002] In the face of infectious diseases and possible emergencies in the future, it is very important to automate and intelligentize the throat swab sampling process. The traditional throat swab sampling robot uses a rigid robotic arm to grasp the end of the throat swab to sample and test the patient. The current throat swab testing robots have problems such as high testing cost, poor flexibility, lack of compliance, and poor safety assurance. Some throat swab robots use flexible grippers at the end to take throat swab samples, which also have problems such as high testing cost, limited working range, poor integration, limited gripping force for throat swabs, and difficulty in entering the narrow space of the human mouth.

[0003] The self-growing robot is a new type of flexible robot that can infinitely extend its length through additive manufacturing or material eversion. Therefore, it can be used in pipeline exploration, cabin waste recovery, medical catheters and other fields. It has strong adaptability to small and unstructured spaces. However, there is no technology that can apply self-growing robots to throat swab sampling. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present disclosure aims to solve one of the technical problems in the related art at least to some extent.

[0005] To this end, the present invention provides a chameleon-like self-growing throat swab sampling robot and a sampling method thereof, which imitates the chameleon's "aim-fire-swallow-withdraw" hunting process and fully utilizes the flexibility and transmission characteristics of the self-growing robot, and realizes the grabbing of the throat swab through the channel inside the self-growing robot. The sampling robot of the present invention has strong flexibility, can realize the rapid and effective collection of throat swabs at a lower cost, and can effectively ensure the safety of patients.

[0006] In order to achieve the above objectives, the present disclosure adopts the following technical solutions:

[0007] The first aspect of the present disclosure provides a chameleon-like self-growing throat swab sampling robot, comprising a robot body, a drive storage mechanism, a pneumatic artificial muscle and an end effector mechanism;

[0008] The robot body is formed by self-growth of a flexible material in a pneumatic manner, and an internal channel connected to the atmosphere is formed therein. The internal channel at the end of the robot serves as a space for accommodating a throat swab rod. The throat swab is grasped and released according to the change in the grasping length of the throat swab by the internal channel during the growth or recovery of the robot body. A first rough layer is provided on the surface of the internal channel to enhance the friction during the grasping of the throat swab.

[0009] The drive storage mechanism is connected to the front end of the robot body and is used to store the flexible material required for the growth of the robot body and provide power for the growth and recovery of the robot body;

[0010] The pneumatic artificial muscle is located on the surface of the robot body, and the position and posture of the robot end are controlled by changing the length of the pneumatic artificial muscle;

[0011] The end effector is located at the end of the robot body and includes a recovery structure and a data acquisition module. The recovery structure guides the flexible material by rolling friction to assist in the recovery of the robot body. A cavity is formed inside the recovery structure for the internal channel to pass through. The data acquisition module is installed on the recovery structure to collect tactile information during the throat swab sampling process.

[0012] In some embodiments, the recovery structure is located inside the end of the robot body, and includes a bracket, two second drive motors, two active rollers and at least three guide rollers; the two active rollers are symmetrically located in the cavity of the bracket and arranged close to the internal channel at the end of the robot body, and the surface of the active roller is covered with a second rough layer in contact with the side wall of the internal channel to increase the friction between the active roller and the flexible material; each second drive motor is installed on the bracket to drive a corresponding active roller to rotate, so that the second rough layer and the side wall of the internal channel have rolling friction, providing tension for recovering the flexible material; each guide roller is rotatably connected to the end of the bracket and is arranged in a circumferentially uniform manner to guide the flexible material during recovery.

[0013] In some embodiments, the first rough layer and the second rough layer are both cast by silica gel, the first rough layer is a strip structure formed on two opposite sides of the internal channel, and the second rough layer completely covers the rolling surface of the active roller.

[0014] In some embodiments, the thickness of the first rough layer and the second rough layer is 100 μm to 30 μm.

[0015] In some embodiments, the data acquisition module includes an endoscope and a patch-type force sensor; the endoscope is fixed to the bracket by magnetic attraction, and the endoscope is located outside the robot body, so as to provide visual perception for throat swab sampling; the patch-type force sensor is fixed at the end of the internal channel of the robot body and in contact with the rod of the throat swab, so as to provide tangential force perception for throat swab sampling.

[0016] In some embodiments, the flexible material is selected from nylon or plastic film.

[0017] In some embodiments, the drive storage mechanism includes a tank body, a material reel, a motor housing, a first drive motor and a coupling; the material reel is installed in the tank body, and the flexible material is wound on the material reel; a first mounting hole and a second mounting hole are respectively provided on the side walls of the tank body, one end of the flexible material is mounted on the tank body through a plug body sealed at the first mounting hole, and the tank body is connected to the robot body, and the other end of the flexible material is fixed on the material reel; an air pipe interface connected to an external air pipe is sealed at the second mounting hole to provide gas drive for the growth of the robot body; the first drive motor is arranged outside the tank body and encapsulated by the motor housing, and the output shaft of the first drive motor passes through the surface of the tank body and is connected to the material reel through the coupling.

[0018] In some embodiments, the pneumatic artificial muscles are located on two side surfaces of the robot body that are relatively set. The pneumatic artificial muscles are expanded by inflating them to reduce the length of the pneumatic artificial muscles, so that the robot body swings toward the side where the length of the artificial pneumatic muscles is reduced, thereby achieving a change in the terminal posture of the robot.

[0019] The second aspect of the present disclosure provides a sampling method of the throat swab sampling robot based on any embodiment of the first aspect of the present disclosure, comprising:

[0020] Step S1, by controlling the length change of the robot body and the pneumatic artificial muscle, the robot body grows toward the throat swab grasping area until the end of the robot reaches the area, thereby completing the grasping of the throat swab;

[0021] Step S2, controlling the length change of the robot body and the pneumatic artificial muscle so that the end of the robot reaches the sampling area, and completing the throat swab sampling of the patient by fine-tuning the length of the robot body and the pneumatic artificial muscle and using the data acquisition module;

[0022] Step S3, by controlling the length changes of the robot body and the pneumatic artificial muscle, the end of the robot body reaches the throat swab recovery area, and the release of the throat swab and the recovery of the robot body are completed through the cooperation of the driving storage mechanism and the recovery structure.

[0023] In some embodiments, in step S2, after the robot end reaches the sampling area, the robot end is made to grow toward the patient. During the growth process, the current posture of the robot end and the length of the pharyngeal swab extending into the patient's mouth are detected in real time by the data acquisition module, and the posture of the robot end is fine-tuned in cooperation with the pneumatic artificial muscle to align the pharyngeal swab end with the patient's throat. Subsequently, the force information collected by the data acquisition module is used to determine whether safe contact with the patient's throat occurs. If it is determined that safe contact occurs or the contact force exceeds a set threshold, the robot body stops growing, and the pharyngeal swab is made to leave the patient's mouth through the cooperation of the drive storage mechanism and the recovery structure, thereby ending step S2.

[0024] The present disclosure has the following characteristics and beneficial effects:

[0025] The present disclosure provides a chameleon-like self-growing throat swab sampling robot, which collects throat swabs in a self-growing manner. The robot adopts an integrated design, uses the end of the self-growing robot as a flexible end effector, and realizes the grasping of throat swabs by changing the length of the self-growing robot. The sampling process of throat swabs imitates the chameleon's "aim-fire-swallow-withdraw" hunting process. The robot realizes the grasping of the throat swab head and the sampling of the throat swab by changing its own length. The internal channel at the end of the robot is directly used as the end effector of the robot, making full use of the flexibility and transmission characteristics of the self-growing robot. The grasping and releasing of the throat swab are realized by changing the length of the self-growing robot. The structure is compact, the integration is strong, and it has high flexibility in a small space. By adding a friction layer on the surface of the internal channel at the end of the robot body as a gecko-like bristle structure, the gripping force of the throat swab can be effectively increased.

[0026] Compared with the current throat swab sampling robot, the throat swab sampling robot proposed in the present invention uses a self-growth method to collect throat swabs. Compared with the traditional method of using rigid robots for throat swab sampling, it mainly has the advantages of strong flexibility, strong robustness, lower price, high detection efficiency, and better safety.

[0027] The body of the self-growing robot is made of flexible materials. By adjusting the air pressure inside the robot body and the length of the gripper of the throat swab, the gripping force of the throat swab can be changed. In conjunction with the data acquisition module at the end of the robot, the tactile perception of the throat swab sampling process can be effectively realized, thereby effectively ensuring the safety of the entire sampling process. At the same time, the flexible self-growing robot has strong robustness. The robot can grab the throat swab within a certain angle range with the central axis of the terminal recovery structure, and through recycling, it can automatically adjust to a position parallel to the central axis of the terminal recovery structure, reducing the requirements for the robot's gripping accuracy. The self-growing robot uses replaceable flexible materials and can be replaced after the sampling is completed, ensuring the safety and hygiene of the entire sampling process. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Figure 1 A side view of a self-growing throat swab sampling robot provided in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 2 A top view of a self-growing throat swab sampling robot provided in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 3 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the drive storage mechanism in the robot shown.

[0031] Figure 4 (a) to (c) are Figure 1 Side cutaway, top cutaway, and top views of the robot end shown.

[0032] Figure 5 (a) to (c) are Figure 1 Side view, top view and cross-section view of the end recovery mechanism in the robot shown.

[0033] Figure 6 This is an overall flow chart of the sampling method of the self-growing throat swab sampling robot provided in the embodiment of the second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the overall state of the robot sampling process provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] Figure 8 A flow chart of a robot grabbing a throat swab provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] Fig. 9 (a) to (c) are schematic diagrams of different motion states of the robot in this embodiment when grabbing a throat swab.

[0037] Fig.10A fluid diagram of a throat swab collected by a robot provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0038] Fig.11 (a) to (c) are schematic diagrams of different motion states of the robot in this embodiment during the process of collecting throat swabs.

[0039] Fig.12 A fluid diagram of the robot recovering a throat swab provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0040] Fig.13 (a) to (c) are schematic diagrams of different motion states of the robot in this embodiment during the process of recovering throat swabs.

[0041] In the figure:

[0042] 100- robot body, 110- internal channel, 120- first rough layer,

[0043] 200 - drive storage mechanism, 210 - tank body, 211 - first mounting hole, 212 - second mounting hole, 213 - plug body, 214 - air pipe interface, 220 - material reel, 230 - motor housing, 240 - first drive motor, 250 - coupling;

[0044] 300-Pneumatic artificial muscles;

[0045] 400-end actuator, 410-recovery structure, 411-bracket, 411a-cavity, 412-second drive motor, 413-active roller, 413a-second rough layer, 414-guide roller, 415-bearing, 421-endoscope, 422-patch force sensor, 423-magnet;

[0046] 500-throat swab.

[0047] A-throat swab collection area, B-sampling area, C-throat swab recovery area. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0049] On the contrary, the present application covers any substitution, modification, equivalent method and scheme made on the essence and scope of the present application as defined by the claims. Further, in order to make the public have a better understanding of the present application, some specific details are described in detail in the detailed description of the present application below. Those skilled in the art can fully understand the present application without the description of these details.

[0050] The structures, proportions, sizes, etc. illustrated in the drawings of this specification are only used to match the contents disclosed in the specification for people familiar with this technology to understand and read, and are not used to limit the restrictive conditions that can be implemented in this application, so they have no substantial technical significance. Any modification of the structure, change in the proportional relationship, or adjustment of the size, without affecting the effects that can be produced by this application and the purposes that can be achieved, should still fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed in this application. At the same time, the terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "middle" and "one" quoted in this specification are only for the convenience of narration, and are not used to limit the scope of the implementation of this application. The change or adjustment of their relative relationship should also be regarded as the scope of the implementation of this application without substantial change in the technical content.

[0051] See also Figure 1 to Figure 5 , a chameleon-like self-growing throat swab robot provided in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present disclosure includes a robot body 100, a drive storage mechanism 200, a pneumatic artificial muscle 300 and an end effector 400;

[0052] The robot body 100 is formed by self-growth of a flexible material in a pneumatic manner, and an internal channel 110 connected to the atmosphere is formed therein. The internal channel 110 located at the end of the robot serves as a space for accommodating the stem of the throat swab 500. The throat swab 500 is grasped and released according to the change of the grasping length of the throat swab 500 by the internal channel 110 during the growth or recovery of the robot body 100. A first rough layer 120 is provided on the surface of the internal channel 110 to enhance the friction force during the grasping of the throat swab 500.

[0053] A drive storage mechanism 200, which is connected to the front end of the robot body 100 and is used to store the flexible material required for the growth of the robot body 100 (hereinafter referred to as "growth material") and provide power for the growth and recovery of the robot body 100;

[0054] Pneumatic artificial muscles 300 are located on both sides of the robot body 100, and the position and posture of the robot end are controlled by changing the length of the pneumatic artificial muscles 300;

[0055] The end effector 400 is located at the end of the robot and includes a recovery structure 410 and a data acquisition module. The recovery structure 410 guides the growth material to assist the recovery of the robot body 100 by rolling friction. A cavity is formed inside the recovery structure 410 for the internal channel 110 to pass through. The data acquisition module is installed on the recovery structure 410 and is used to collect tactile information during the sampling process of the throat swab 500.

[0056] In some embodiments, when selecting the growth material, factors such as the thickness, flexibility, air tightness and price of the material should be comprehensively considered, such as nylon or plastic film. Plastic film is preferably used as the growth material, because its air tightness is more easily guaranteed, it is easy to obtain, and the price is relatively low. At the same time, it can be replaced after the sampling is completed, ensuring the safety and hygiene of the entire sampling process.

[0057] In some embodiments, see Figure 3 The drive storage mechanism 200 includes a tank body 210, a material reel 220, a motor housing 230, a first drive motor 240 and a coupling 250. The material reel 220 is installed in the tank body 210, and the growing material is wound on the material reel 220; the side walls of the tank body 210 are respectively provided with a first mounting hole 211 and a second mounting hole 212, one end of the growing material is used as the front end of the robot body 100, and it is installed on the tank body 210 through a plug body 213 glued at the first mounting hole 211, and the tank body 210 is connected to the robot body 100, and the other end of the growing material is fixed on the material reel 220, so that an internal channel 110 connected to the atmosphere is formed in the growing material located outside the tank body 210; an air pipe interface 214 is glued at the second mounting hole 212 to realize the connection between the tank body 210 and the external air pipe (the external air pipe is not shown in the figure), so as to provide gas for the growth of the robot body 100 Drive, by adjusting the proportional valve on the external air pipe to adjust the internal air pressure of the robot body 100; the first drive motor 240 is fixedly connected to the upper surface of the top cover of the tank body 210 by screw connection, and the first drive motor 240 is encapsulated by a motor housing 230 fixed on the top cover of the tank body 210 to ensure the overall air tightness of the drive storage mechanism 200, the output shaft of the first drive motor 204 passes through the top cover of the tank body 201 and is connected to the top of the material reel 220 through the coupling 250 located in the tank body 210, the bottom end of the material reel 220 is rotatably connected to the tank body 210 through a bearing, the first drive motor 240 drives the material reel 220 to rotate to realize the release and recovery of the growth material, and cooperates with the external air circuit to control the growth and recovery of the robot body 100. Taking the growth process as an example, the external air path inflates the front end of the robot body 100 through the tank 210, and the first drive motor 240 is used to drive the material reel 220 to rotate to release the growing material. Under the action of air pressure, the growing material gradually turns outward from the internal channel 110 to the outer surface of the robot body 100, causing the robot body 100 to gradually become longer.

[0058] In some embodiments, the pneumatic artificial muscles 300 are attached to both sides of the robot body 100 by adhesive tape ( Figure 1 , 2The pneumatic artificial muscle 300 on the corresponding side is inflated by controlling the proportional valve on the external air circuit to expand it, so as to reduce the length of the artificial pneumatic muscle 300 on the corresponding side, so that the robot body 100 swings toward the side where the length of the artificial pneumatic muscle 300 is reduced, thereby realizing the change of the terminal posture of the robot.

[0059] like Figure 4 The end of the robot provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in (a) to (c), which is mainly composed of the end of the robot body 100 and the end actuator 400; considering that the friction coefficient of the robot body 100 is small, in order to ensure the stable grasping of the throat swab 500, a first rough layer 120 is pasted on the opposite sides of the internal channel 110 of the end of the robot body 100, and the friction layer is in close contact with the rod of the throat swab 500 to enhance the friction force of the robot in the process of grasping the throat swab 500. The end actuator 400 is mainly composed of a recovery structure 410 and a data acquisition module. The recovery structure 410 is located inside the end of the robot body 100, mainly used to realize the recovery of the robot body 100, provide a channel and guide for the robot to grasp the throat swab 500, and provide an installation platform for the data acquisition module; the data acquisition module is used to collect tactile information during the sampling process of the throat swab 500, and the tactile information includes visual information and force information. The data acquisition module provides tactile perception for the sampling of the throat swab 500 to ensure the safe and smooth progress of the entire process.

[0060] Furthermore, the first rough layer 120 is made of a material with a large friction coefficient, preferably cast from silicone, and is used as a gecko-like bristle structure. The thickness of the first rough layer 120 is set to 100 μm to 30 μm. In order not to affect the flexibility of the robot body 100, the first rough layer 120 should not cover the entire surface of the internal channel 110 at the end of the robot body 100. It is sufficient to set a strip-shaped first rough layer 120 on the opposite sides of the internal channel 110 at the end of the robot body 100. The length of the first rough layer 120 is slightly greater than the length of the contact surface between the robot and the throat swab 500 when the robot grasps the throat swab 500.

[0061] Furthermore, if Figure 5(a) to (c) show the end effector 400 of the robot, and its recovery structure 410 includes a bracket 411, two second drive motors 412, two active rollers 413 and at least three guide rollers 414; the bracket 411 is cylindrical in shape and open at both ends; the two active rollers 413 are located in the cavity 411a of the bracket 411 and are arranged close to the internal channel 110 at the end of the robot body 100, and the surfaces of the two active rollers 413 are both pasted with a second rough layer 413a in contact with the side wall of the internal channel 100 to increase the friction between the growing material and avoid the growing material from buckling during the recovery process. The material and thickness of the second rough layer 413a are the same as those of the first rough layer 120, and the second rough layer 413a completely covers the rolling surface of the active roller 413; the two second drive motors 412 are fixed to the bracket 411 by gluing. The output shaft of the second drive motor 412 is connected to one end of the corresponding active roller 413 to drive the active roller 413 to rotate, so that the second rough layer 413a rolls and rubs against the side wall of the internal channel 100, and cooperates with the material reel 220 in the drive storage mechanism 200 to realize the recovery of the robot body 100. The other end of the active roller is rotatably connected to the bracket 411 through a bearing 415. It should be noted that the second drive motor 412 is used to drive the active roller 413 to rotate only when the generated material is recovered, and the second drive motor 412 does not provide power to the active roller 413 when releasing the growing material; each guide roller 414 is rotatably connected to the end of the bracket 411 through a bearing 415, and is arranged in a circumferentially uniform manner. Since each guide roller 414 is a passive wheel, it can provide guidance for the growing material when recovering and releasing the growing material. When the growing material of the robot body 100 needs to be recovered, the second driving motor 412 drives the active roller 413 to rotate in the direction of reducing the length of the robot body 100, so that the second rough layer 413a on the surface of the active roller 413 and the side wall of the internal channel 100 at the end of the robot body 100 are subjected to rolling friction, so as to provide tension for the recovery of the growing material, and under the guidance of the guide roller 414, the growing material located at the outermost side of the robot body 100 is gradually turned inward to the internal channel 110 of the robot body 100, and the first driving motor 240 drives the material reel 220 to rotate in the direction of reducing the length of the robot body 100, that is, the rotation direction of the material reel 220 and the active roller 413 are consistent, and the speeds of the two are consistent, both of which are half of the recovery speed of the robot body 100, and at the same time, the air pressure in the robot body 100 is controlled by the proportional valve in the external air circuit, so as to finally realize the recovery of production materials.

[0062] The data acquisition module in the end effector 400 includes an endoscope 421 and a patch-type force sensor 422; the endoscope 421 is fixed to the bracket 411 by magnetic attraction, and the endoscope 421 is located outside the robot body 100 to avoid unclear acquisition images due to obstruction by growing materials. Specifically, a magnet 423 is fixed to the bracket 411 located in the robot body 100 by gluing, and the endoscope 421 is connected to the bracket 411 through the magnet 423. The endoscope is mainly used to provide visual perception for throat swab sampling; the patch-type force sensor 422 is attached to the end of the internal channel 100 of the robot body 100 and in contact with the rod of the throat swab 500, providing tangential force perception for throat swab sampling and ensuring the safety of the entire process.

[0063] Furthermore, each driving motor in the embodiment of the present disclosure is a stepper motor.

[0064] In order to collect throat swabs, Figure 6 , Figure 7 As shown, the throat swab sampling robot workflow proposed in the second aspect of the present disclosure includes sequentially executing the following steps:

[0065] Step S1, grabbing the throat swab, the throat swab sampling robot grabs the throat swab 500 by changing the length of the robot body 100 and the pneumatic artificial muscle 300;

[0066] Step S2, throat swab sampling, the throat swab sampling robot completes the throat swab sampling of the patient through the change of the length of the pneumatic artificial muscle 300 and the data acquisition module;

[0067] Step S3, recovery of the throat swab. The throat swab sampling robot completes the recovery of the throat swab by changing the length of the robot body and the pneumatic artificial muscles.

[0068] In some embodiments, Figure 8 and Fig. 9 As shown, in step S1, the throat swab grabbing sub-process includes sequentially performing the following steps:

[0069] Step S1-1, control the proportional valve on one side of the machine body 100 ( Fig. 9 The pneumatic artificial muscle 300 (shown as the right side) is inflated, and the pneumatic artificial muscle 100 on this side is shortened, causing the robot body 100 to swing toward the throat swab grasping area A;

[0070] Step S1-2, based on step S1-1, control the proportional valve to increase the air pressure inside the robot body 100, and rotate the material reel 220 to make the robot body 100 grow toward the throat swab grasping area A until the internal channel 110 at the end of the robot body 100 completes the envelopment of the partial length of the rod of the throat swab 500;

[0071] Step S1-3, by driving the material reel 200 in the storage mechanism 200 to cooperate with the active roller 413 in the recovery structure 410 and recovering the growth material of the robot body 100 under the guidance of the guide roller 414, due to the setting of the first rough layer 120 and the second rough layer 413a, the rod of the throat swab 500 will gradually enter the internal channel 100 of the robot body 100 following the inversion of the growth material, thereby gradually increasing the grasping length of the robot body 100 for the rod of the throat swab 500, and completing the grasping of the throat swab 500;

[0072] Step S1-4, control the proportional valve to the other side of the robot body 100 ( Figure 8 The pneumatic artificial muscle 300 (shown in the figure as the left side) is inflated, causing the pneumatic artificial muscle 100 on that side to shorten, and the robot body 100 swings back to the initial position, completing the preparations before throat swab sampling.

[0073] In some embodiments, Fig.10 and Fig.11 As shown, in step S2, the throat swab sampling sub-process includes sequentially performing the following steps:

[0074] Step S2-1, the patient arrives at sampling area B;

[0075] Step S2-2, the throat swab sampling robot grows toward the patient. During the growth process, the endoscope 421 at the end detects the current posture of the robot end and the length of the throat swab 500 extending into the patient's mouth in real time, and the pneumatic artificial muscles 300 on both sides are used to fine-tune the posture of the robot end so that the throat swab end is aligned with the patient's throat;

[0076] Step S2-3, using the patch force sensor 422 at the end of the robot in contact with the throat swab 500, determine whether the throat swab 500 has contacted the patient's throat. If it is determined that no contact has occurred, return to step S2-2, and allow the robot to continue growing until it is determined that contact has occurred; if it is determined that contact has occurred, stop driving the material reel 220 to stop the robot from growing, and determine whether the contact force exceeds the set threshold. If it exceeds the set threshold, stop urgently and end the entire throat swab sampling process. If it does not exceed the threshold, continue to execute step S2-4;

[0077] Step S2-4, after the contact process is completed, the active roller 413 and the material reel 220 are driven to rotate synchronously, and the robot body 100 is retracted under the guidance of the guide roller 414 to shorten the length;

[0078] Step S2-5, the patient leaves the throat swab sampling area B, completing the throat swab sampling step.

[0079] In some embodiments, Fig.12 and Fig.13 As shown, in step S3, the throat swab recovery sub-process includes sequentially performing the following steps:

[0080] Step S3-1, controlling the proportional valve to inflate the pneumatic artificial muscle 300, the pneumatic artificial muscle 300 on the left side of the robot is shortened, and the robot body 100 swings toward the throat swab recovery area C;

[0081] Step S3-2: Based on step S3-1, the proportional valve is controlled to increase the air pressure inside the robot body 100, and the material reel 220 is rotated to make the robot body 100 grow toward the throat swab recovery area C. As the length of the robot body 100 increases, the gripping length of the throat swab 500 at the end of the robot body 100 gradually decreases until the throat swab 500 falls off from the internal channel 110 at the end of the robot body 100, thereby completing the release operation of the throat swab 500.

[0082] Step S3-3, by driving the material reel 200 in the storage mechanism 200 to cooperate with the active roller 413 in the recovery structure 410 and under the guidance of the guide roller 414, the growth material of the robot body 100 is recovered until the robot body 100 returns to the initial length;

[0083] Step S3-4, controlling the proportional valve to inflate the right pneumatic artificial muscle 300, the length of the right pneumatic artificial muscle 300 shrinks, and the robot body 100 swings back to the initial position, completing the throat swab recovery process.

[0084] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "illustrative embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples" means that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

[0085] Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present disclosure, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A chameleon-like self-growing throat swab sampling robot, characterized in that: It includes robot body, drive storage mechanism, pneumatic artificial muscle and end effector; The robot body is formed by self-growth of a flexible material in a pneumatic manner, and an internal channel connected to the atmosphere is formed therein. The internal channel at the end of the robot serves as a space for accommodating a throat swab rod. The throat swab is grasped and released according to the change in the grasping length of the throat swab by the internal channel during the growth or recovery of the robot body. A first rough layer is provided on the surface of the internal channel to enhance the friction during the grasping of the throat swab. The drive storage mechanism is connected to the front end of the robot body and is used to store the flexible material required for the growth of the robot body and provide power for the growth and recovery of the robot body; The pneumatic artificial muscle is located on the surface of the robot body, and the position and posture of the robot end are controlled by changing the length of the pneumatic artificial muscle; The end effector is located at the end of the robot body and includes a recovery structure and a data acquisition module. The recovery structure guides the flexible material by rolling friction to assist in the recovery of the robot body. A cavity is formed inside the recovery structure for the internal channel to pass through. The data acquisition module is installed on the recovery structure to collect tactile information during the throat swab sampling process.

2. The throat swab sampling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The recovery structure is located inside the end of the robot body, and includes a bracket, two second drive motors, two active rollers and at least three guide rollers; the two active rollers are symmetrically located in the cavity of the bracket and arranged close to the internal channel of the end of the robot body, and the surface of the active roller is covered with a second rough layer in contact with the side wall of the internal channel to increase the friction between the active roller and the flexible material; Each second driving motor is installed on the bracket to drive a corresponding active roller to rotate, so that the second rough layer and the side wall of the internal channel have rolling friction, providing tension for recycling the flexible material; each guide roller is rotatably connected to the end of the bracket and is arranged in a circumferentially uniform manner, so as to guide the flexible material during recycling.

3. The throat swab sampling robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first rough layer and the second rough layer are both cast by silica gel, the first rough layer is a strip structure formed on two oppositely disposed surfaces of the internal channel, and the second rough layer completely covers the rolling surface of the active roller.

4. The throat swab sampling robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The thickness of the first rough layer and the second rough layer is 100 μm to 30 μm.

5. The throat swab sampling robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The data acquisition module includes an endoscope and a patch-type force sensor; the endoscope is fixed to the bracket by magnetic attraction, and the endoscope is located outside the robot body, and is used to provide visual perception for throat swab sampling; the patch-type force sensor is fixed at the end of the internal channel of the robot body and in contact with the throat swab rod, and is used to provide tangential force perception for throat swab sampling.

6. The throat swab sampling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flexible material is selected from nylon or plastic film.

7. The throat swab sampling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drive storage mechanism includes a tank body, a material reel, a motor housing, a first drive motor and a coupling; the material reel is installed in the tank body, and the flexible material is wound on the material reel; a first mounting hole and a second mounting hole are respectively provided on the side walls of the tank body, one end of the flexible material is mounted on the tank body through a plug body sealed and connected at the first mounting hole, and the tank body is connected to the robot body, and the other end of the flexible material is fixed on the material reel; an air pipe interface connected to an external air pipe is sealed at the second mounting hole to provide gas drive for the growth of the robot body; the first drive motor is arranged outside the tank body and encapsulated by the motor housing, and the output shaft of the first drive motor passes through the surface of the tank body and is connected to the material reel through the coupling.

8. The throat swab sampling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pneumatic artificial muscles are located on two opposite sides of the robot body. The pneumatic artificial muscles are expanded by inflating them to reduce the length of the pneumatic artificial muscles, so that the robot body swings toward the side where the length of the artificial pneumatic muscles is reduced, thereby changing the terminal posture of the robot.

9. A sampling method based on the throat swab sampling robot according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: include: Step S1, by controlling the length change of the robot body and the pneumatic artificial muscle, the robot body grows toward the throat swab grasping area until the end of the robot reaches the area, thereby completing the grasping of the throat swab; Step S2, controlling the length change of the robot body and the pneumatic artificial muscle so that the end of the robot reaches the sampling area, and completing the throat swab sampling of the patient by fine-tuning the length of the robot body and the pneumatic artificial muscle and using the data acquisition module; Step S3, by controlling the length changes of the robot body and the pneumatic artificial muscle, the end of the robot body reaches the throat swab recovery area, and the release of the throat swab and the recovery of the robot body are completed through the cooperation of the driving storage mechanism and the recovery structure.

10. The sampling method according to claim 9, characterized in that: In step S2, after the robot end reaches the sampling area, the robot end is made to grow toward the patient. During the growth process, the current posture of the robot end and the length of the pharyngeal swab extending into the patient's mouth are detected in real time by the data acquisition module, and the posture of the robot end is fine-tuned in cooperation with the pneumatic artificial muscle so that the pharyngeal swab end is aligned with the patient's throat. Subsequently, the force information collected by the data acquisition module is used to determine whether safe contact with the patient's throat occurs. If it is determined that safe contact occurs or the contact force exceeds a set threshold, the robot body stops growing, and the pharyngeal swab is made to leave the patient's mouth through the cooperation of the drive storage mechanism and the recovery structure, thereby ending step S2.

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