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SUMMARY:A Novel Bioinspired Variable Stiffness Design Concept - Bridging t
 he gap between Soft and Traditional Robotics - Agostino Stilli\, KCL
DTSTART:20170508T150000Z
DTEND:20170508T160000Z
UID:TALK72339@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Josie Hughes
DESCRIPTION:Soft materials have opened new possibilities in robotics: the 
 inherently soft mechanical structures and the low manufacturing costs are 
 making soft robotics very promising for various applications. Furthermore\
 , the advancement of soft material and multi-material 3D printing techniqu
 es are pushing the complexity of the design of such systems even further. 
 \nNevertheless\, the sizable elastic deformations associated with the pneu
 matic actuation pose a limitation to the modelling and control of such sys
 tems. Moreover\, the maximum stiffness of these silicone-based mechanisms 
 is typically too low to provide performances comparable to those of their 
 rigid-linked counterparts in regards to exertable forces\, accuracy and ta
 sk repeatability. \nThis research aims at overcoming these limitations and
  bridging the gap between traditional and soft robotics by proposing a nov
 el variable stiffness system design with the potential to be employed in a
  wide range of application areas. The proposed design takes inspiration fr
 om the antagonistic stiffening mechanism of muscles in nature\, in which t
 he balancing of two opposing contractile muscle forces allows to achieve i
 nfinite stable configurations. \nDifferent application areas have been inv
 estigated to show how this novel design concept can be applied to effectiv
 ely improve or replace a wide range of state-of-the-art robotic systems. T
 he simple mechanical structure and (cost-effective) fabrication process of
  the proposed concept allows for easy customization of design parameters\,
  exertable force and desired stiffness.  \nIn this talk I will present the
  results of my PhD research and focus on the application of this new conce
 pt to:\n* Collaborative industrial robots\n\n* Continuum manipulators for 
 robot-assisted Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS)\n\n* Exoskeletons for hand
  rehabilitation and enhancement
LOCATION:CUED\, LR6
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