Invention Grant
- Patent Title: Magnetic assembly of soft robots with hard components
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Application No.: US14768389Application Date: 2014-03-04
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Publication No.: US09962832B2Publication Date: 2018-05-08
- Inventor: Sen Wai Kwok , Stephen A. Morin , Bobak Mosadegh , Ju-Hee So , Robert F. Shepherd , George M. Whitesides
- Applicant: President and Fellows of Harvard College
- Applicant Address: US MA Cambridge
- Assignee: President and Fellows of Harvard College
- Current Assignee: President and Fellows of Harvard College
- Current Assignee Address: US MA Cambridge
- Agency: Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
- International Application: PCT/US2014/020415 WO 20140304
- International Announcement: WO2014/138123 WO 20140912
- Main IPC: B25J15/06
- IPC: B25J15/06 ; B25J9/14 ; B25J9/08 ; B25J15/12 ; B62D57/032 ; B23P19/04 ; B25J15/00 ; A63H3/46

Abstract:
Reconfigurable soft robotic actuators with hard components are described. Magnetic attraction is used to couple flexible molded bodies capable of actuation upon pressurization with other flexible molded bodies and/or with hard components (e.g., frames and connectors) to form a seal for fluidic communication and cooperative actuation. Pneumatic de-coupling chambers built into the hard components to de-couple the hard components from the magnetically-coupled soft molded bodies are described. The use of magnetic self-alignment coupling and pneumatic de-coupling allows for the remote assembly and disassembly of complex structures involving hard and soft components. The magnetic coupling allows for rapid, reversible reconfiguration of hybrid soft-hard robots for repair, testing new designs, and carrying out new tasks.
Public/Granted literature
- US20160001444A1 MAGNETIC ASSEMBLY OF SOFT ROBOTS WITH HARD COMPONENTS Public/Granted day:2016-01-07
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