A robotic end effector comprising at least two fingers connected through joints and a deformable pad on an exterior of the at least two fingers, wherein the deformable pad comprises a functionally graded hardness. A method for three dimensional printing of a deformable pad of a robotic end effector, comprising depositing a first material on an exterior of at least two fingers connected through joints, and depositing a second material on an exterior of the at least two fingers connected through joints, to produce a deformable pad, wherein the first material and the second material have a different hardness and the deformable pad comprises a functionally graded hardness.

For kinetic sizing, the dynamic torque to be provided by a robotic system may be based off of, in part, a maximum acceleration. Rather than trying to extract maximum acceleration from many samples, a relationship of velocity to acceleration from repetitive user inputs relative to a non-surgical target in different situations (e.g., accurate, fast, or balance tracing of the target movement) is established. The velocity for any given situation may be used to estimate the acceleration from the relationship. Rather than using many trajectory samples from many users, a synthetic trajectory may be used. The synthetic trajectory may be fit to user data while maintaining high-coverage properties for direction of movement for any given pose of the robot. Alternatively, a virtual trajectory decoupled from time is used. The virtual trajectory samples the directions at any given pose in a global high-coverage manner, without specifically using a time-dependent sequence of poses.

A method to produce an articulated automatic operator device treated on the surface with a corrosion-resistant material and/or to obtain surface properties resistant to CIP/SIP treatments, in particular in the field of the production and packaging of pharmaceutical products, where the device includes a plurality of articulated components rotatably connected to one another in correspondence with respective coupling interfaces, such that the method provides to make available casings suitable to be assembled together to make the articulated components, wherein the casings are made of a first material and subject each casing to a thermal spray treatment using solid powders of a second material accelerated in a supersonic gaseous jet to deposit a coating of said second material at least on the external surface of each of said casings.

A computer-implemented method for generating a design for a continuum robot includes: generating a first plurality of candidate designs for the continuum robot, wherein each candidate design included in the first plurality of candidate designs is based on a first set of values for a set of design parameters; determining a first performance value for each candidate design included in the first plurality of candidate designs; based at least in part on the first performance values, selecting a subset of candidate designs from the first plurality of candidate designs; and based on the subset of candidate designs, generating a second plurality of candidate designs for the continuum robot, wherein each candidate design included in the second plurality of candidate designs is based on a second set of values for the set of design parameters.

A service robot includes a robot main body, a robot housing and a shielding structure. The robot main body is arranged in the robot housing, and the robot housing is fixed on the robot main body by means of a fastener. The shielding structure is fit on the robot housing to block the fastener. The service robot blocks the fastener exposed outside the robot housing by means of the shielding structure, so as to effectively improve the aesthetics and integrity of the overall appearance of the service robot.

The present invention relates to a method and system for optimizing the joint hinge point position of a hydraulic tandem mechanism based on lightweight. The method comprises: determining rotational load characteristics of each joint in the hydraulic tandem mechanism using dynamics simulation software based on said end load characteristics and said structural parameters of the tandem mechanism; establishing a fixed coordinate system between two adjacent rods in each joint and a joint global coordinate system, and determining the relationship between hinge point coordinates, joint rotation angle and joint drive force arm of each joint; calculating linear load characteristics of each joint according to said rotational load characteristics and said joint drive force arm to calculate hydraulic cylinder structural parameters and hydraulic oil source flow rate for each joint; determining a lightweight index for the joint hinge point position of the hydraulic tandem mechanism according to said hydraulic cylinder structural parameters and said hydraulic oil source flow rate; solving the coordinates of each joint hinge point of the tandem mechanism corresponding to the minimum of said lightweight index, using said lightweight index as a fitness function, so that the overall weight of the tandem mechanism is minimized.

A magnetic-induced stiffness changed soft robot drive module includes magnetic-induced stiffness changed layer, two-degree-of-freedom pneumatic driver, magnetic core and sealing fixing device. The magnetic-induced stiffness changed layer and two-degree-of-freedom pneumatic driver are printed and formed. The magnetic core can be deformed together with the driver, and a magnetic field can be generated when it is energized. After the magnetic core is installed into the two-degree-of-freedom pneumatic driver, then assembled with the sealing fixing device, a soft robot drive module with one end fixed is finished. The magnetic-induced stiffness changed layer has the fast, reversible and controllable stiffness adjustment ability under the action of electromagnetic field. As its hardness is greater than that of the two-degree-of-freedom pneumatic driver and its position is outside the air cavity, the two-degree-of-freedom pneumatic driver can be restricted from over-expansion and over-extension in the axial direction, making its pneumatic bending deformation controllable.

Various embodiments for fast prototyping of morphologies and controllers related to locomotion for a robotic device are disclosed.

A robot 1 having a first assembly 4, 5 and a second assembly 3, 6, wherein a bearing arrangement 24, 25, 52, 53, by which the second assembly 3, 6 can be moved relative to the first assembly 4,5 is provided in the first assembly 4,5. The bearing arrangement 24, 25, 52, 53 comprises a first fastening element 26, 27, 54, 55, and the second assembly 3, 6 comprises a second fastening element 30, 31, 60, 61, wherein the first fastening element 26, 27, 54, 55 and the second fastening element 30, 31, 60, 61 are connected to one another, and wherein the first fastening element 26, 27, 54, 55 and the second fastening element 30, 31, 60, 61 are designed to be complementary, at least in sections. A method for mounting two assemblies 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, in particular two robotic arms, of a robot is also disclosed.

A soft robotic manipulator adapted to be activated by a pressurised fluid having a first end, a second end, an outer wall and an axis, and comprising a plurality of segments extending co-axially along the manipulator, such that the outer wall of each segment forms part of the outer wall of the manipulator, each segment having a first end and a second end and an outer wall and further comprising a plurality of chambers contained within the outer wall, each of which chambers extends from the first end to the second end, wherein each manipulator segment further comprises a central element extending along the axis of the manipulator segment, and a plurality of partition walls extending from the central element to the outer wall, the chambers being defined by the partition walls and the outer wall, wherein the outer wall of the manipulator comprises the outer wall of each segment.