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Published February 16, 2017 | Version v1
Journal article Open

The Quest for Natural Machine Motion: An Open Platform to Fast-Prototyping Articulated Soft Robots

  • 1. Centro di Ricerca, Universita di Pisa, Pisa, 56122, Italy
  • 2. Department of Advanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, 16163, Italy
  • 3. Centro di Ricerca, Universita di Pisa, Pisa, 56122, Italy; Department of Advanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, 16163, Italy

Description

Soft robots are one of the most significant recent evolutions in robotics. They rely on compliant physical structures purposefully designed to embody desired characteristics. Since their introduction, they have shown remarkable applicability in overcoming their rigid counterparts in such areas as interaction with humans, adaptability, energy efficiency, and maximization of peak performance. Nonetheless, we believe that research on novel soft robot applications is still slowed by the difficulty in obtaining or developing a working soft robot structure to explore novel applications. In this article, we present the Natural Machine Motion Initiative (NMMI), a modular open platform that aims to provide the scientific community with tools for fast and easy prototyping of articulated soft robots. Such a platform is composed of three main open hardware modules: the Qbmoves variable-stiffness actuators (VSAs) to build the main robotic structure, soft end effectors (EEs) to interact with the world, and a pool of application-specific add-ons. We also discuss many novel uses of the platform to rapidly prototype (RP) and test new robotic structures with original soft capabilities, and we propose NMMI-based experiments.

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Additional details

Funding

WALK-MAN – Whole-body Adaptive Locomotion and Manipulation 611832
European Commission
SoftPro – Synergy-based Open-source Foundations and Technologies for Prosthetics and RehabilitatiOn 688857
European Commission
SOFT HANDS – A Theory of Soft Synergies for a New Generation of Artificial Hands 291166
European Commission
SoMa – Soft-bodied intelligence for Manipulation 645599
European Commission