The demining of landmines using drones is challenging; air-releasable payloads are typically non-intelligent (e.g., water balloons or explosives) and deploying them at even low altitudes (∼6 meters) is inherently inaccurate due to complex deployment trajectories and constrained visual awareness by the drone pilot. Soft robotics offers a unique approach for aerial demining, namely due to the robust, low-cost, and lightweight designs of soft robots. Instead of non-intelligent payloads, here, we propose the use of air-releasable soft robots for demining. We developed a full system consisting of an unmanned aerial vehicle retrofitted to a soft robot carrier including a custom-made deployment mechanism, and an air-releasable, lightweight (296 g), untethered soft hybrid robot with integrated electronics that incorporates a new type of a vacuum-based flasher roller actuator system. We demonstrate a deployment cycle in which the drone drops the soft robotic hybrid from an altitude of 4.5 meters and after which the robot approaches a dummy landmine. By deploying soft robots at points of interest, we can transition soft robotic technologies from the laboratory to real-world environments.


    Access

    Check access

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Air-Releasable Soft Robots for Explosive Ordnance Disposal




    Publication date :

    2022-04-04


    Size :

    2998281 byte




    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English




    Optical Ordnance System for Use in Explosive Ordnance Disposal Activities

    Merson, J. A. / Salas, F. J. / Helsel, F. M. et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1994


    Explosive ordnance disposal vehicle for residential area

    GUAN KAIYING / ZHANG WENLONG | European Patent Office | 2020

    Free access

    A Computational Simulation for Explosive Ordnance Disposal

    Higa, Yoshikazu / Uehara, Kohei / Iyama, Hirofumi et al. | Tema Archive | 2013


    Unmanned aerial vehicle for explosive ordnance disposal

    XI WENBO / ZHAO YUNTAO / HAN WEIMENG et al. | European Patent Office | 2024

    Free access