Arachno-Bot
The arachno-bot is a soft articulated robot design that serves as a survey device to collect information in areas deemed too toxic or dangerous for humans.
The arachno-bot was developed in 2011 by a team of researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute of Manufacturing Engineering and Automation in Stuttgart, Germany.
Despite all these capabilities, an arachno-bot can perform, it can be manufactured at a low cost, due to the affordability of its materials and labor.
The 3D printer lays thin layers of fine plastic powder that are melted together by selective laser sintering.
[1][2][3] The research team from the Fraunhofer Institute of Manufacturing Engineering and Automation chose to study spiders for their capabilities in locomotion (movement).
A spider’s locomotion allows it access to areas that modern technology and humans can not due to their joints.
A spider's leg, much like a human's finger, has multiple joints embedded in it which allow for movement.
When high voltage is applied between electrodes the electrostatic forces cause the dielectric liquid to move inside the pouch and flex the joint.
Much like a human leg, where the femur, tibia, and fibula do not bend, the joints connecting to them do, which allows for movement of the limb.
Two actuators with liquid dielectric (vegetable-based oil) are attached to either side of the bidirectional hinge that is composed of flexible film stiffeners that are connected to a two-sided adhesive transparency.
The compliant end effector is deformed to increase the contact area when picking objects.
The compliant end effector is made from material with high friction on its surface which is more effective than the bare acrylic of the S.E.S.
This allows for the three-fingered gripper to grab objects up to 270 grams from a horizontal and vertical surface.
The largest of the three actuators is the one closer to the base because it needs more power to lift the weight of the limb.
[3] The arachno-bot is a newly developed technology to improve piloted controlled robotics for surveying.
