68 results about "Soft Robotic" patented technology

The present disclosure provides a vision based control of a reconfigurable soft robotic gripper. Conventional methods lack an intelligent control method which automatically adapts the configuration of the gripper based on the target object. The present disclosure includes a robotic gripper with a rigid palm and three soft fingers attached to the palm. Each finger is separately actuated using three separate motors. Out of the three fingers, one is fixed, and other two can move relative to the base, the motion of the movable fingers is actuated by motor(s). Each finger has multiple sensors to detect the magnitude of bending. A camera is attached to the base of the gripper, facing the object to be grasped. The camera image and the sensors measurements are given to a control unit and the control unit in turn gives the control signal to the actuator motors to suit the object to be grasped.

The invention belongs to the field of medical devices, and particularly relates to a soft robot thrombus removing device which comprises a robot body, a minimally invasive thrombus taking head, an external magnetic field control device and an imaging display device. The minimally invasive thrombectomy head comprises a front section thrombectomy part, a middle section positioning part and a tail section control part; a plurality of through hole structures are arranged in the thrombus extraction component; a rotating structure, a suction component and a clamping structure are respectively arranged in a plurality of through hole structures arranged in the thrombus extraction component; a magnetic navigation sensor is arranged in a middle section positioning component of the minimally invasive thrombus extraction head; a control unit electrically connected with the rotating structure, the suction part and the clamping structure is arranged in the control part at the tail section of the minimally invasive thrombus extraction head; the robot body is transported to the position close to the diseased region through the catheter and the puncture needle sheath. The device has the advantages that the device is specially designed for treating vascular embolism, is particularly suitable for removing thrombus of small blood vessels such as cerebral vessels, and has extremely high flexibility and operation precision.

A method of monitoring a device that includes a soft pneumatic actuator and a gas pump, the soft pneumatic actuator configured to actuate, assist and / or resist a movement of a body part. The method includes measuring the pressure of a fluid in the internal chamber of the soft pneumatic actuator. The pressure measurement or measurements is / are used to estimate anyone or any combination of: the volume of the internal chamber; the three-dimensional position, shape, and / or displacement of the soft pneumatic actuator; and the force delivered by the soft pneumatic actuator.

This invention discloses a docking and sealing system for oil refueling, comprising a soft robotic arm, a docking device, and an oil receiving device. The docking device includes an oil delivery docking rod, a docking cone, a locking mechanism, a slider, and a linear motor. The oil delivery docking rod consists of a docking ball head and sequentially connected axial guide sections, sealing sections, unlocking sections, transition sections, and locking sections. The locking mechanism includes a locking pin, a locking spring sleeve, a locking spring, an unlocking spring, and a limiting ball head. The oil receiving device includes an oil receiving guide cone and a self-sealing mechanism. The oil receiving guide cone consists of sequentially connected outer guide cones, inner guide cones, and a straight cylinder section. The self-sealing mechanism consists of an oil receiving straight cylinder, a spring, and a piston. This invention achieves self-docking, self-locking, and self-sealing between the refueling end and the equipment's oil tank, as well as automatic unlocking and separation after oil refueling. This improves the efficiency, reliability, and safety of oil refueling, and avoids pressure loss and oil leakage during the refueling process.

The present disclosure provides a robotic system for pressure sore prevention comprising a force resistance sensor (FRS) array configured to measure force applied thereon by a body part of a patient positioned thereon; an array of at least two Soft Robot assemblies connected to the FRS array, each of the at least two Soft Robot assemblies configured to accept fluid into it, to change its degree of inflation independently of other Soft Robot assemblies; and a control unit configured to periodically receive force measurements from the FRS array to instruct the array of at least two Soft Robot assemblies to change its degree of inflation once a predefined threshold is reached, to change a 3D configuration of the robotic system and thus, change position and / or orientation of the body part, and interrupt the pressure applied by the body part onto the surface of the FRS array, for pressure sores prevention.

An electrothermally driven artificial muscle fiber based on a liquid crystal elastomer. The overall mechanical strength of the fiber is improved without affecting the driving performance thereof, can be driven quickly and precisely, and has quick response characteristics. The electrothermally driven liquid crystal elastomer artificial muscle has high sensitivity, large actuation strain and high output force, can achieve a maximum actuation strain of 60% within 0.3s, and has a large driving force while satisfying a large actuation stroke, such that the electrothermally driven liquid crystal elastomer artificial muscle has broad research prospects in the fields of flexible electronics, soft robotics and rehabilitation therapy. The preparation method for the electrothermally driven artificial muscle fiber based on a liquid crystal elastomer involves a simple preparation process and easy operations, and can be mass-prepared.

A soft robotic gripper includes multiple fingers, each embedding at least one artificial muscle formed as a low-temperature shape-memory coil that recovers a memorized shape when electrically heated, thereby driving the fingers between open and gripping configurations in cold environments; the coil acts as a Joule-heated actuator enabling reversible contraction / extension with improved response at reduced transformation temperatures suitable for low-ambient operation.

The application discloses a control method of a pneumatic soft-bodied mechanical arm. First, an image is collected through a visual sensor, a pose sensor senses a current position of a center of an end of the mechanical arm, a target detection algorithm is used to extract position coordinates of an object to be grabbed, and a target position of the center of the end of the mechanical arm is obtained through coordinate conversion. Then, the internal pressure of each soft-bodied driver of each soft-bodied mechanical arm unit when the center of the end of the mechanical arm reaches the target position is calculated. Finally, a PID controller is designed, the charging / discharging amount of each soft-bodied driver is obtained through the PID controller, the charging / discharging control of the soft-bodied driver is performed through an electrical proportional valve, the soft-bodied mechanical arm is driven to move, and the center of the end of the mechanical arm reaches the target position. The method is combined with the object to be grabbed, and precise control of the soft-bodied mechanical arm is realized.

The invention discloses a paper folding module, a stacking structure, a paper folding combination, a soft mechanical arm and a feeding device and method, and belongs to the technical field of soft robots. The paper folding module serves as a core foundation and is mainly composed of a paper folding framework and an airtight coating film; the paper folding framework adopts a buckle structure to eliminate bending rigidity, a limited buckling supporting plate is integrated in the paper folding framework, and the double-curvature shallow shell effect is utilized to provide high-energy-density resistance rigidity and quick reset capacity without positive pressure assistance. Two stacking structures of a stacking frame common cavity structure and a unit splicing structure are derived based on the paper folding module and assembled into an L-shaped soft mechanical arm according to needs, visual feedback can be integrated to form an automatic feeding device, full-process automation of food source positioning, accurate scooping, safe meal delivery and automatic reset is achieved through cooperation of multiple modules, and the automatic feeding device is suitable for large-scale production. And the feeding process is safe and free of damage. The device has the rigid-flexible coupling characteristic and man-machine friendliness, the manufacturing process is simple, the module is flexible to disassemble and assemble, and the device can be widely applied to rehabilitation nursing and other scenes.

A morphing, biologically-derived actuator can be used with soft robotics in a marine environment. The actuator is fabricated using a modified hydrogel additive manufacturing printing process, where the printed structure is exposed to various concentrations of crosslinking initiator to ensure a water-tight seal between adjacent printed layers. The actuator fabricated using the disclosed process is suitable for marine use and is safe for marine animals and is biodegradable.

The invention discloses a humidity-driven soft actuator and a preparation method thereof, the actuator takes a patterned black polyimide (PI) film as a substrate, and the substrate is compounded with two-dimensional transition metal carbide Ti3C2Tx (MXene) / amylopectin amp; a functional layer is formed by Amylose / carbon nanotubes (CNTs), when the functional layer absorbs moisture and expands, the actuator is bent towards the PI side, and when the functional layer is dehumidified and contracts, the actuator is bent reversely; the bending response direction is defined through the substrate gap direction of nanosecond laser machining, and the initial curvature and the bending degree are regulated and controlled through vacuum hot pressing treatment. The components cooperate to endow the actuator with rapid humidity response capability and excellent mechanical stability. The technical problems that an existing humidity driving actuator is poor in programmability and an interface is prone to stripping are solved, an external driving source is not needed, the technology is simple, convenient and controllable, and the potential application value in the fields of soft robots, flexible intelligent equipment and the like is shown.

The invention provides a self-sensing driver based on thermoelectric fiber intrinsic integration, a closed-loop control method of the self-sensing driver and a soft grabbing device, and belongs to the technical field of soft robot driving and control. The device comprises a liquid crystal elastomer deformation layer which is used for generating programmable contraction or bending deformation after being heated; the driving-sensing coplanar layer is arranged below the liquid crystal elastomer deformation layer in a stacked mode, the heating-sensing coplanar layer is arranged below the liquid crystal elastomer deformation layer in a stacked mode, and the polyimide constraint bottom layer is arranged below the driving-sensing coplanar layer in a stacked mode and used for limiting the single-degree-of-freedom deformation direction; and the closed-loop control unit is used for receiving the thermoelectric force signal generated by the heating-sensing coplanar layer and dynamically adjusting the input voltage of the snake-shaped patterned conductive polymer driving film in the heating-sensing coplanar layer. The method successfully solves the three core problems of mechanical mismatch, temperature drift interference and insufficient open-loop control precision in the field of soft robots.

This invention discloses a soft robot system and its working method for sampling polar ice layers, applied in the field of polar drilling technology. It includes a soft robot and an ice surface working platform. The soft robot comprises a sub-ice drilling soft body and an ice surface sealing soft body. The sub-ice drilling soft body includes a soft body main unit and a heat-fusion module located at the front end of the soft body main unit. The ice surface sealing soft body includes a soft body main unit. Both soft body main unit one and soft body main unit two are provided with hollow channels, and several air chambers are provided inside soft body main unit one on both sides of the hollow channels. The ice surface working platform includes a pneumatic system, a pipeline system, a water storage system, and a main controller. The main controller is electrically connected to the pneumatic system, the pneumatic system pipelines are connected to the pipeline system, and the pipeline system pipelines are connected to the water storage system and the air chambers. The pipeline system passes through the hollow channels and connects soft body main unit one and soft body main unit two in series. This invention meets the existing requirements of unmanned drilling, flexible selection of sampling locations, no complex mechanical structure, and low propulsion resistance in ultra-deep drilling.

Feedback control for controlling a robotic manipulator includes receiving measurement signals from one or more tactile sensors and filtering the measurement signals to align them with the directions of motion of the end effector to produce an impedance-shaping signal. The feedback control determines one or more control signals to the actuators to track a reference state of the end effector based on measurements of the state of the end effector and combines the control signal with the impedance shaping signal to produce control commands. Also, the feedback control may include submitting the determined control commands to the actuators causing a change in the state of the end effector, where the state of the end effector includes one or a combination of an end effector position, an end effector velocity, and an end effector force.

The invention discloses a mechanical response luminescent polymer based on an AIE polycaprolactone molecular ring and a preparation method thereof, and belongs to the field of mechanical response intelligent materials. The technical problems that an existing AIE-based mechanical response material is poor in mechanical property, low in response sensitivity and poor in cyclic reversibility are solved. The preparation method comprises the following steps: synthesizing linear polycaprolactone with an AIE group by taking dihydric alcohol containing an aggregation-induced emission group as an initiator; then preparing a linear precursor with polymerizable double bonds in a molecular chain segment and alkynyl and azido at the tail ends through multi-step end group functionalization reaction; the preparation method comprises the following steps: cyclizing a linear precursor to obtain an AIE polycaprolactone molecular ring containing double bonds; and finally, initiating double bonds on the ring through an initiator for polymerization to form a polymer network. The obtained material has very high elongation at break, high-sensitivity force-induced fluorescence enhanced response and excellent cycling stability, and can be widely applied to the fields of stress sensing, damage diagnosis, soft robots and the like.

The application discloses a metamorphic device, a soft robot pump and a soft robot gripper. The metamorphic device comprises a flexible wall and a plurality of hard parts. The flexible wall is enclosed to form a flexible cavity. The hard parts are attached to the flexible wall to form a driving area at the position where the flexible wall is attached to the hard parts. Adjacent hard parts have a gap therebetween, so that the part of the flexible wall located in the gap forms a crease structure. The plurality of hard parts can move away from each other and stretch around the crease structure under the action of an external force, so as to drive the flexible cavity to expand. The plurality of hard parts can also move close to each other and fold around the crease structure under the action of an external force, so as to drive the flexible cavity to contract. Since the hard driving area is formed at the position where the flexible wall is attached to the hard parts, the disorder of the flexible cavity when expanding can be reduced. Meanwhile, it is convenient to exert force on the hard parts of the metamorphic device, thereby providing a more optimal hardware basis for realizing programmed control of the metamorphic device.

Exemplary embodiments relate to user-assisted robotic control systems, user interfaces for remote control of robotic systems, vision systems in robotic control systems, and modular grippers for use by robotic systems. The systems, methods, apparatuses and computer-readable media instructions described interact with and control robotic systems, in particular pick and place systems using soft robotic actuators to grasp, move and release target objects.

SOLUTION: The present invention relates to a rehabilitation system for lower or upper limbs. A limb rehabilitation system comprises an ankle-assist or wrist-assist rehabilitation device (300) and an intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) device (305). The limb rehabilitation device (300) which is constituted by a soft elongation actuator assembly (410) is operable so as to minimize joint contracture, while the IPC device (305) is operable so as to increase venous blood flow in a patient at risk and contribute to the prevention of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. For lower-limb rehabilitation, the rehabilitation device (300) assists dorsiflexion and plantar flexion, as well as eversion or inversion of the ankle, to improve mobility of the ankle of the user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3B

The application discloses a programmable deformation and oxygen production magnetic driving soft robot and a preparation method thereof, and belongs to the technical field of composite materials and photocatalysis. Hard magnetic particles (T-NdFeB) with surface modification are compounded into kappa-carrageenan / polyacrylamide (KC / PAm) hydrogel through a free radical polymerization process to obtain a magnetic driving module. The modules are flexibly assembled into a soft robot with complex geometric shape and magnetization distribution by using a self-healing process between the modules, so that the soft robot can realize various programmable deformations. In addition, a Ru-Bi2CrO6 photocatalyst is obtained by doping Ru elements in Bi2CrO6, and is compounded into the KC / PAm hydrogel to construct a functional module capable of producing oxygen. The magnetic driving module and the functional module are further assembled into a magnetic oxygen production soft robot, so that the purpose of stably and flexibly supplying oxygen to a water environment is achieved.

The invention provides a magnetic soft robot, a preparation method, a control method, a medicine loading method and application. According to the magnetic soft robot, dynamic non-Newtonian hydrogel serves as a main body material, a reversible dynamic cross-linked network is built in the magnetic soft robot, magnetic particles are compounded, a flexible soft structure with the magnetic response capacity is formed, the magnetic soft robot can be remotely driven under the action of an external magnetic field, and the magnetic soft robot is suitable for controllable movement in a limited space. The magnetic soft robot has good biocompatibility and biological safety, and can be used as a drug loading and delivery carrier for preparing a drug preparation; meanwhile, the compound shows good structural stability in a complex physiological environment, and can keep the form and function completeness under various physiological disturbance conditions, thereby supporting continuous delivery of drugs. Finally, the magnetic soft robot provides possibility for medicine preparation and delivery related applications, and is simple in structure, controllable in cost and suitable for popularization and application.

Apparatus and methods for utilizing a soft robot to facilitate standing and / or walking of pediatric patients, particularly patients suffering from dyskinesia, such as cerebral palsy. Such a soft robotic device may include a fabric pneumatic actuator that, upon inflation, generates the necessary torque along upper and lower contacts of the device to assist in movement of the patient, particularly in joint extension walking, standing, or sitting-to-standing movement. Compared with a fabric pneumatic actuator with an upright or isotropic structure, the concave structure can provide a larger torque angle and can also avoid friction and extrusion generated at the glenoid fossa. The actuator is soft, light in mass, good in compliance, and capable of providing comfortable joint extension in a multi-center trajectory. The actuator can be incorporated into a joint protector or an exoskeleton, and is very suitable for sensitive, soft and weak pediatric patients with dyskinesia, especially infants with cerebral palsy.

The application belongs to the technical field of soft robot, and discloses a soft robot finger based on force and body position feedback of flexible cavity deformation, which comprises a force feedback mechanism and a position feedback mechanism. The force feedback mechanism comprises a soft fingertip, which is fixed at the upper end of a fixing part, the fixing part is fixed at the top end of a soft finger, a first silica gel hose penetrates the inside of the soft finger, and the fixing part and a first air pressure sensor are connected, and the first air pressure sensor is electrically connected with a first microcontroller. The position feedback mechanism comprises a bellows, which is fixed in a joint groove of the soft finger, a second silica gel hose penetrates the soft finger, and the bellows and a second air pressure sensor are connected, and the second air pressure sensor is electrically connected with a second microcontroller. The application aims to obtain the position information of the soft robot finger itself and the contact force information when the soft robot finger contacts with an object by using internal and external sensors respectively.

A multi-armed robotic translation device includes a robotic body that includes a base section and a cover section attached to the base section. A plurality of tentacles is attached to the robotic body. The plurality of tentacles are configured to apply a shear force on the target object to grip the target object using an adhesive force, each tentacle including at least one shape memory alloy wire configured to move the tentacle. A control system is positioned in the robotic body and is configured to provide power and / or control signals to the tentacles.

The application relates to the technical field of organic crystals, and particularly discloses a low-temperature-processed flexible organic crystal compound and a preparation method thereof, which comprises a low-temperature flexible organic crystal compound, the low-temperature flexible organic crystal compound is 2,3,5-trifluoro-6-((2-(2-hydroxyethoxy)ethyl)amino) p-phenylenedinitrile (THEAT), and the low-temperature flexible organic crystal compound exhibits flexibility and processability in a temperature range of 298K to 77K; the application exhibits good flexibility and processability of THEAT in a temperature range of 298K to 77K, the feature enables the material to still maintain physical performance and operability in a low-temperature environment, the low-temperature flexible and processable combination overcomes the shortcomings that traditional organic materials are brittle and difficult to process in a low-temperature environment, the low-temperature flexibility and processability make THEAT and similar materials have wide application prospects in multiple fields such as wearable devices, biocompatible sensors and soft robotics, and promote the cross integration and innovative development of material science.

Provided herein are systems, methods, and platforms that enable tracheal intubation with improved ease and reduced risk of patient harm. These systems, methods, and platforms can include introduction devices and systems for tracheal intubation. These systems, methods, and platforms can include intubation device. The intubation devices can include robotic components.

A method of monitoring a device 101 comprising a soft pneumatic actuator and a gas pump 113. The soft pneumatic actuator is configured to actuate, assist and / or resist a movement of a body part. The s

The application provides a real-time trajectory tracking control method for a rope-driven soft robot arm and belongs to the technical field of soft robot motion control. First, a target function of a trajectory tracking optimal control problem is established according to a target trajectory. Second, a dynamics model of the rope-driven soft robot arm is established by introducing a strain constraint based on a position dynamics method. Third, a reduced order matrix is established by using a modal derivative to realize model reduction of the rope-driven soft robot arm, and the calculation of nonlinear terms is reduced by coefficient combination. Fourth, a calculation formula of trajectory tracking control input is established by using the target function. Finally, the deformation of the soft robot arm is solved by a numerical integration method. The application establishes a simulation framework of the rope-driven soft robot arm based on the position dynamics method to solve the simulation and control problems of the soft robot arm, and aims to provide a new strategy of a complete soft robot arm model verification and real-time control to solve the problem of interaction between the soft robot arm and the environment.

This invention belongs to the field of hydrogel technology, specifically relating to an organosilicon-reinforced high-strength and tough hydrogel, its preparation method, and its applications. The organosilicon-reinforced high-strength and tough hydrogel and its preparation method involve first preparing a hydrophobic amino-functionalized polysiloxane (APSi) using aminosilane as a raw material. Then, APSi is mixed with polymerizable monoacids and hydrophilic matrix monomers. Uniform dispersion and strong interfacial bonding of the organosilicon are achieved through salt-forming ion interactions. The high-strength and tough hydrogel is obtained through photo-initiated or thermally-initiated polymerization. This invention overcomes the technical bottleneck of limited improvement in the strength and toughness of hydrogels by traditional methods, completely solving the industry problems of poor mechanical properties, weak puncture resistance, poor tear resistance, uneven organosilicon dispersion, and weak interfacial bonding in traditional hydrogels. The resulting hydrogel exhibits high tensile strength, good toughness, excellent puncture and tear resistance, fatigue resistance, and strong stability. The preparation process is mild and simple, and it can be widely applied in high-end fields such as biomedicine, flexible electronics, soft robotics, and smart wearables.

The present disclosure provides for wirelessly actuated soft robotic undulating pumps designed to efficiently transport both viscous fluids and solid cargos in human patients, methods of manufacturing a peristalsis-producing stent, and systems including a pair of soft magnetic sheets and a magnetic actuator configured to produce a magnetic field which generates complementary undulation of the pair of soft magnetic sheets. In an aspect, the pair of soft magnetic sheets can have at least a first soft magnetic sheet and a second soft magnetic sheet, and wherein a magnetization profile of the first soft magnetic sheet is coordinated with a magnetization profile of the second soft magnetic sheet.

This invention discloses a waterproof, flexible, programmable actuator array, belonging to the field of intelligent materials and soft robotics technology. The actuator array includes a flexible support frame, a composite waterproof electrode layer, wires, and dielectric liquid actuator units. The flexible support frame is a PET mesh structure. The composite waterproof electrode layer includes hydrogel electrodes and a multi-layer waterproof encapsulation of UV adhesive and PET tape. The electrodes are connected to external circuits via wires. The dielectric liquid actuator unit is a cavity formed by heat-sealing a PET-EVA composite film and filling it with silicone oil. This invention utilizes an external conductive water medium as anisotropic electrodes. Electrostatic pressure is converted into directional deformation through the frame constraint. Each electrode unit can be independently controlled, achieving multi-modal biomimetic deformation. Furthermore, it exhibits overall optical transparency and high underwater electrical reliability, solving the problems of underwater insulation failure, structural redundancy, and single driving mode in existing flexible actuators.