Oliver Crispin Robotics (United Kingdom)

Soft robotics is an emerging technology in which engineers create flexible devices for use in a variety of applications. In order to advance the wide adoption of soft robots, ensuring their trustworthiness is essential; if soft robots are not trusted, they will not be used to their full potential. In order to demonstrate trustworthiness, a specification needs to be formulated to define what is trustworthy. However, even for soft robotic grippers, which is one of the most mature areas in soft robotics, the soft robotics community has so far given very little attention to formulating specifications. In this work, we discuss the importance of developing specifications during development of soft robotic systems, and present an extensive example specification for a soft gripper for pick-and-place tasks for grocery items. The proposed specification covers both functional and non-functional requirements, such as reliability, safety, adaptability, predictability, ethics, and regulations. We also highlight the need to promote verifiability as a first-class objective in the design of a soft gripper.

Currently, it is accepted that animal locomotion is controlled by a central pattern generator in the spinal cord. Experiments and models show that rhythm generating neurons and genetically determined network properties could sustain oscillatory output activity suitable for locomotion. However, current central pattern generator models do not explain how a spinal cord circuitry, which has the same basic genetic plan across species, can adapt to control the different biomechanical properties and locomotion patterns existing in these species. Here we demonstrate that rhythmic and alternating movements in pendulum models can be learned by a monolayer spinal cord circuitry model using the Bienenstock-Cooper-Munro learning rule, which has been previously proposed to explain learning in the visual cortex. These results provide an alternative theory to central pattern generator models, because rhythm generating neurons and genetically defined connectivity are not required in our model. Though our results are not in contradiction to current models, as existing neural mechanism and structures, not used in our model, can be expected to facilitate the kind of learning demonstrated here. Therefore, our model could be used to augment existing models.

The senses of limb position and movement become degraded in low gravity. One explanation is a gravity-dependent loss of fusimotor activity. In low gravity, position and movement sense accuracy can be recovered if elastic bands are stretched across the joint. Recent studies using instrumented joysticks have confirmed that aiming and tracking accuracy can be recovered in weightlessness by changing viscous and elastic characteristics of the joystick. It has been proposed that the muscle spindle signal, responsible for generating position sense in the mid-range of joint movement, is combined with input from joint receptors near the limits of joint movement to generate a position signal that covers the full working range of the joint. Here it is hypothesised that in low gravity joint receptors become unresponsive because of the loss of forces acting on the joint capsule. This leads to a loss of position and movement sense which can be recovered by imposing elastic forces across the joint.

<div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper describes work being conducted by OC Robotics and Airbus to develop snake-arm robot technology suitable for conducting automated inspection and assembly tasks within wing boxes.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The composite, single skin construction of aircraft structures presents new challenges for robotic assembly. During box close-out it is necessary for aircraft fitters to climb into the wing box through a small access panel and use manual or power tools to perform a variety of tasks. These manual interventions give rise to a number of health and safety concerns. Snake-arm robots provide a means to replace manual procedures by delivering the required tools to all areas of the wing box. The advantages of automating in-wing processes will be discussed. This paper presents early stage results of the demonstration snake-arm robot and outlines expectations for future development.</div>