Swarm of origami robots, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

[Airicist]

Developer - Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering (https://pr.ai/showthread.php?8119)

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/lNOrWTVr8xU

Feedback-controlled self-folding of autonomous robot collectives

Uploaded on Oct 26, 2016


“Feedback-Controlled Self-Folding of Autonomous Robot Collectives,” by Martin E. W. Nisser, Samuel M. Felton, Michael T. Tolley, Michael Rubenstein, and Robert J. Wood from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University was presented this month at IROS 2016 in Korea.

"Swarm of Origami Robots Can Self Assemble Out of a Single Sheet (https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/robotics-hardware/harvard-self-folding-origami-robots)"

by Evan Ackerman
October 26, 2016

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/aKH_YM_YQR0

The milliDelta Robot

Published on Jan 17, 2018


Delta Robots are comprised of three articulating arms connected to an output stage. They are extremely precise and agile, and can be used for “pick & place” and 3D Printing. Researchers at the Wyss Institute and Harvard SEAS have developed a millimeter-scale delta robot, the “milliDelta”. Possible applications at this scale include microassembly, micromanipulation, and tremor cancellation in microsurgery. Our design is powered by three independently controlled piezoelectric bending actuators. At 15mm x 15mm x 20mm, it has a payload capacity of ~3x its mass. It can operate with precision down to ~5µm, at frequencies up to 75Hz, and experience accelerations of ~22g. The design has potential for high-bandwidth, high-precision applications at the millimeter-scale.

"Small but fast: a miniaturized origami-inspired robot combines micrometer precision with high speed (https://wyss.harvard.edu/small-but-fast-a-miniaturized-origami-inspired-robot-combines-micrometer-precision-with-high-speed)"
The millimeter-scale robot opens new avenues for microsurgery, microassembly and micromanipulation

by Benjamin Boettner
January 17, 2018

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/3xMpcXCWrnA

Rolls-Royce | SWARM Robots (https://www.rolls-royce.com/media/our-stories/insights/2018/swarm-robots.aspx)

Published on Jul 18, 2018


These tiny SWARM robots are part of our IntelligentEngine vision, and could one day revolutionise the way we maintain jet engines. Listen to Sebastien de Rivas from our partners Harvard University explain the pioneering technology behind them.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/3UvYu4zCeBs

Multifunctional soft robots

Published on Aug 22, 2019


Researchers at Caltech and at Harvard have developed soft robotic systems, inspired by origami, that can move and change shape in response to external stimuli, paving the way for fully untethered soft robots.

Through sequential folds, origami can encode multiple shapes and functionalities in a single structure. Using materials known as liquid crystal elastomers that change shape when exposed to heat, the research team 3D-printed two types of soft hinges that fold at different temperatures and thus can be programmed to fold in a specific order.

While this research only focused on temperature responses, liquid crystal elastomers can also be programmed to respond to light, pH, humidity, and other external stimuli.

"In the future, such materials can be programmed to perform ever more complex tasks, blurring the boundaries between materials and robots," said Caltech’s Chiara Daraio, professor of mechanical engineering and applied physics and co-lead author of the study.

This research was supported by the Army Research Office, the Harvard Materials Research Science and Engineering Center through the National Science Foundation, and the NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship.

"Self-folding “Rollbot” paves the way for fully untethered soft robots (https://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2019/08/self-folding-rollbot-paves-way-fully-untethered-soft-robots)"

by Leah Burrows
August 21, 2019