Tech Briefs Magazine - November 2021 - 32

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The Armature Project
Southern Taiwan University of
Science and Technology, Taiwan
A prosthetic arm called AI
Armature uses artificial intelligence
and computer vision via smart glasses.
A gesture control system reduces
the effort needed by upper limb
amputees to actuate their prosthetic
hand.
https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11225
ELECTRONICS-FREE SOFT WALKING
ROBOT
Dylan Drotman
University of California, San Diego
T
his four-legged soft robot needs no electronics to work - only a
constant source of pressurized air for all its functions including
its controls and locomotion systems. Applications include robots
that can operate in environments where electronics cannot function
such as MRI machines or mine shafts. Soft robots are of particular
interest because they easily adapt to their environment and operate
safely near humans.
Most soft robots are powered by pressurized air and are controlled
by electronic circuits; however, this approach requires complex
components like circuit boards, valves, and pumps, often outside
the robot's body. By contrast, the new robot is controlled by a
lightweight, low-cost system of pneumatic circuits, made up of tubes
and soft valves onboard the robot itself. The robot can walk on command
or in response to signals it senses from the environment.
The robot's computational power roughly mimics mammalian
reflexes that are driven by a neural response from the spine
rather than the brain. To mimic these reflexes, a system of valves
was created that acts as a group of oscillators, controlling the
order in which pressurized air enters air-powered muscles in the
robot's four limbs. A component coordinates the robot's gait by
delaying the injection of air into the robot's legs.
The robot is also equipped with simple mechanical sensors -
little soft bubbles filled with fluid placed at the end of booms protruding
from the robot's body. When the bubbles are depressed,
the fluid flips a valve in the robot that causes it to reverse direction.
The robot is equipped with three valves acting as inverters
that cause a high-pressure state to spread around the air-powered
circuit, with a delay at each inverter.
Each of the robot's four legs has three degrees of freedom powered
by three muscles. The legs are angled downward at 45
degrees and composed of three parallel, connected, pneumatic
cylindrical chambers with bellows. When a chamber is pressurized,
the limb bends in the opposite direction. As a result, the three chambers
of each limb provide multi-axis bending required for walking.
In the future, the robot would be improved to walk on natural terrain
and uneven surfaces, allowing it to navigate over a variety of
obstacles. This would require a more sophisticated network of sensors
and as a result, a more complex pneumatic system.
For more information, visit
https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11094
32
Cov
www.techbriefs.com
ToC
Cosmic Scale
Alexandre Junqueira and
Erick Mascagni Ferdinan -
do, Konker Labs, Sao
Paulo, Brazil
Cosmic Scale uses cosmic
muons attenuation
data to generate continuous
3D information on
big structures. As muons
are freely available everywhere on Earth, this can be virtually
done anywhere.
https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11337
Mo Wheelchair
Combination
Vasilatos Ianis,
Oradea,
Romania
The Mo wheel -
chair is a lightweight
solution
that increases a person's ability to take their chair over wet,
muddy, or rough surfaces without causing undue stress on
the physical environment or the person using the chair. It
can be disassembled or folded quickly to a size small
enough to transport.
https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11117
Solventless Silicone
Release SLY-OFF™ SL
184 Coating
Na Li, Zhenbin Niu,
Pierre Chevalier,
Thomas Davidian,
Alex Knott, Nathalie
Gerard, Alexandros
Manikis, Alberto
Petrosino, Brennan Macmillan, Celine Vlemincq, and Xiaoyun
Chen, Dow Chemical Co., Midland, MI
This is an anti-mist additive and coating formulation with a
mist generation that is 28 times lower than the industrial mist
level threshold for high-speed release coating and labeling
applications.
https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11204
Tech Briefs, November 2021
https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11225 https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11337 https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11117 https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11094 https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11204 http://www.techbriefs.com http://info.hotims.com/79419-902
Tech Briefs Magazine - November 2021

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