An amorphous robot includes a compartmented bladder containing fluid, a valve assembly, and an outer layer encapsulating the bladder and valve assembly. The valve assembly draws fluid from a compartment(s) and discharges the drawn fluid into a designated compartment to displace the designated compartment with respect to the surface. Another embodiment includes elements each having a variable property, an outer layer that encapsulates the elements, and a control unit. The control unit energizes a designated element to change its variable property, thereby moving the designated element. The elements may be electromagnetic spheres with a variable polarity or shape memory polymers with changing shape and/or size. Yet another embodiment includes an elongated flexible tube filled with ferrofluid, a moveable electromagnet, an actuator, and a control unit. The control unit energizes the electromagnet and moves the electromagnet via the actuator to magnetize the ferrofluid and lengthen the flexible tube.


    Access

    Download


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Locomotion of amorphous surface robots


    Contributors:

    Publication date :

    2018-02-27


    Type of media :

    Patent


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English


    Classification :

    IPC:    G01C Messen von Entfernungen, Höhen, Neigungen oder Richtungen , MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS / B62D MOTOR VEHICLES , Motorfahrzeuge / B64G Raumfahrt , COSMONAUTICS / G05D SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES , Systeme zum Steuern oder Regeln nichtelektrischer veränderlicher Größen



    Locomotion of Amorphous Surface Robots

    BRADLEY ARTHUR T | European Patent Office | 2016

    Free access

    Locomotion of amorphous surface robots

    BRADLEY ARTHUR T | European Patent Office | 2016

    Free access

    Multimode locomotion via SuperBot reconfigurable robots

    Shen, Wei-Min / Krivokon, Maks / Chiu, Harris et al. | Tema Archive | 2006


    Biologically inspired locomotion of compliant robots

    Urbain, Gabriel | BASE | 2021

    Free access

    Adaptive Locomotion for Planetary Exploration Robots

    Long, Ian / Kilic, Cagri | AIAA | 2024