Tasering Twin Soft Robot: A Multimodal Soft Robot Capable of Passive Flight and Wall Climbing

The application of Soft Crawling Robots (SCRs) to real-world scenarios remains a grand challenge due to their limited deployment time to reach the target and accessibility to difficult-to-reach environments by any obstacles. To overcome these limitations, a novel multimodal Tasering Twin Soft Robot (TTSR), carrying two SCRs, capable of 1) passive flight and 2) wall climbing to a desired location by deploying SCRs once reached the target is proposed. For satisfying both tasks, reconfigurable design of SCRs using a novel bistable mechanism and detaching mechanism based on a shape-memory alloy for deploying SCRs is proposed. Each SCR is driven by two dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA) and three electroadhesive (EA) feet. To demonstrate multimodality, the TTSR with two SCRs is launched by pneumatic pressure and flown over an obstacle. While flying, the SCRs are folded compactly to reduce the air drag and perch on a wall 3 m away (50 times of body length) within 0.64 s. After perching, the SCRs reconfigure themselves for crawling and separated from each other. After that, the SCRs crawl, performing planar motion, and reach predefined locations on the wall. Moreover, the SCR can move across 15°-slope dihedral surfaces and inverted surface

Cooperative continuum robots: Enhancing individual continuum arms by reconfiguring into a parallel manipulator

Continuum robots are able of in-situ inspection tasks in cluttered environments and narrow passages, where conventional robots and human operators cannot intervene. However, such intervention often requires the robot to interact with the environment, and the low stiffness and payload of continuum robots limits their intervention capabilities. In this paper, we propose a paradigm shift from individual to multiple continuum robots, which can reach the target environment from different paths and then physically connect, reconfiguring into a parallel architecture to enhance precision, stiffness, and payload. The main challenges in modelling and controlling cooperative continuum robots are outlined, and an experimental comparison between individual and cooperating continuum robots that connect through a novel shape-memory-alloy-based clutch highlights the advantages of the proposed technology

A multimodal miniaturised soft robot for accessing remote areas by passive-flight and wall-climbing

Soft crawling robots have been developed to access confined and difficult-to-reach areas. Those robots have attracted the interest of the research community with various solutions to address design, crawling strategy, and modelling. However, their capabilities are limited by their own size and moving speed showing that crossing large obstacles and remote operation are still challenges. Human intervention is strongly required to deploy robots directly to the target area to avoid obstacles and reduce operating time. As such, they cannot inspect or navigate confined space and hazardous area where they cannot be deployed close enough. This limitation motivates authors to develop a multimodal soft robot that can be delivered to remote areas, where a human cannot reach, and perform navigation afterward. In this thesis, we propose a novel multimodal Tasering Twin Soft Robot (TTSR), carrying two Soft Crawling Robots (SCRs), capable of i) passive flight and ii) wall climbing. Once the TTSR landed on the target wall, it deploys SCRs to the desired location. To satisfy both tasks, we propose reconfigurable design of SCRs using a novel bistable mechanism to maintain aerodynamic stability while flying and achieve wall-climbing once landed. To disengage SCRs, a detaching mechanism based on a shape-memory alloy is implemented. Each SCR is driven by two dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA) and three electroadhesive (EA) feet. The analysis of bistable mechanism and output force under multidirectional deformation of DEA and aerodynamic performance of TTSR have been studied. To demonstrate multimodality, the TTSR with two SCRs was launched by pneumatic pressure and flew over an obstacle. While flying, the SCRs were folded compactly to reduce the air drag and perched on a wall 3 m away (50 times of body length) within 0.64 second. Once perched, the SCRs reconfigured themselves for crawling and separated from each other. After that, the SCRs crawled, performing planar motion, and reached predefined locations on the wall. Moreover, the SCR can move across 15o-slope dihedral surface and inverted surface

A multimodal miniaturised soft robot for accessing remote areas by passive-flight and wall-climbing

Soft crawling robots have been developed to access confined and difficult-to-reach areas. Those robots have attracted the interest of the research community with various solutions to address design, crawling strategy, and modelling. However, their capabilities are limited by their own size and moving speed showing that crossing large obstacles and remote operation are still challenges. Human intervention is strongly required to deploy robots directly to the target area to avoid obstacles and reduce operating time. As such, they cannot inspect or navigate confined space and hazardous area where they cannot be deployed close enough. This limitation motivates authors to develop a multimodal soft robot that can be delivered to remote areas, where a human cannot reach, and perform navigation afterward. In this thesis, we propose a novel multimodal Tasering Twin Soft Robot (TTSR), carrying two Soft Crawling Robots (SCRs), capable of i) passive flight and ii) wall climbing. Once the TTSR landed on the target wall, it deploys SCRs to the desired location. To satisfy both tasks, we propose reconfigurable design of SCRs using a novel bistable mechanism to maintain aerodynamic stability while flying and achieve wall-climbing once landed. To disengage SCRs, a detaching mechanism based on a shape-memory alloy is implemented. Each SCR is driven by two dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA) and three electroadhesive (EA) feet. The analysis of bistable mechanism and output force under multidirectional deformation of DEA and aerodynamic performance of TTSR have been studied. To demonstrate multimodality, the TTSR with two SCRs was launched by pneumatic pressure and flew over an obstacle. While flying, the SCRs were folded compactly to reduce the air drag and perched on a wall 3 m away (50 times of body length) within 0.64 second. Once perched, the SCRs reconfigured themselves for crawling and separated from each other. After that, the SCRs crawled, performing planar motion, and reached predefined locations on the wall. Moreover, the SCR can move across 15o-slope dihedral surface and inverted surface