Soft Robotic Manipulators with Enhanced Perception using Multimodal Sensory Skins

Future NASA missions will increasingly rely on advanced robotic systems to enable effective space exploration. In particular, longer and more complex operations require new technologies which have increased autonomy to free-up ground control resources and astronauts' time. Perhaps most importantly these robots must be capable of robustly operating in unstructured, natural environments with ever changing conditions. A critical part of this reliability comes from developing platforms that can tolerate interaction with their surroundings. Pneubotic manipulators derive their structure and actuation from pressurized fluid, which allows for control over stiffness, force generation and deformation of the manipulators. This qualities make these soft robots perfectly suited for space exploration missions were planetary rovers are equipped with soft robotic manipulators capable of identifying and manipulating both heavy debris and delicate samples by actively matching their compliance to the given task. Similarly the light-weight, compliant nature of the Pneubotic technology makes them safe for performing collaborative tasks with astronauts.

The mobile material handling sector is a large near-term market where industrial robotics have already established the precedent for the use of robotic automation but are incapable of addressing mobility needs. The remaining limitation for soft manipulators to enter this market is robust and high throughput grasping of wide variety of objects. The STTR work will address this challenge by using contact to quickly identify box edges and position the end effector relative to the target. Multi-point contact and force control will be utilized to ensure a secure grasp. A key piece to bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States is incorporating automation into an agile manufacturing line with the goal of shortening product-development cycles and augmenting worker productivity. However, the problem with traditional robots is that they fall short in meeting the needs of agile manufacturing because of cost, weight, and task limitations. Utilizing soft robots in manufacturing operations requires end-effectors capable of establishing safe and controlled contact to create a closed structural loop, significantly reducing the need for high cost sensors and actuators traditionally required to achieve high positional accuracy and stiffness. This interaction which will enable sub mm-scale tool positioning using light-weight, low-cost robots. More »