Ellie Gabel explores how pneumatics and soft robotics drive safer, more versatile collaborative automation, from improving colonoscopy procedures to enabling resilient robots in extreme environments.
As people explore ways to bring robots into their workflows, many develop collaborative models featuring pneumatic systems and soft exteriors.
These options increase safety and versatility, helping users get more done and making tasks increasingly enjoyable.
Boosting colonoscopy safety and effectiveness
Colonoscopies are important bowel cancer screening methods, but they have numerous shortcomings. Their overall effectiveness is linked to preparation steps and the endoscopist’s skills.
The conventional endoscopes used in these procedures also offer limited dexterity, sometimes resulting in colon perforations, heavy bleeding and discomfort.
Researchers proposed tackling those issues with a soft robotic platform that automatically deploys and inflates pneumatic actuators to reduce complications and features a real-time force sensor to minimise colon damage.
This innovation mounts on existing endoscopes and includes a user interface for healthcare providers to monitor the procedure as they work. When the robot detects too much pressure, it redistributes it to a larger surface area to improve safety.
The team tested the creation with seven users while running ex vivo experiments. Participants’ knowledge level ranged from novice to advanced, and the results indicated they could seamlessly bring the robotic system into existing workflows.
Valuable user feedback revealed how the tool affected endoscopists’ mental and physical loads. A pair of experienced professionals also used this solution on two swines during in-vivo tests.
Features such as a soft sleeve and steerable endoscope tip increase patient comfort and reduce the likelihood of false negatives. The researchers also installed a digital pressure sensor with a manual regulation option and a filter to remove dust or other contaminants from the air powering the actuators.
Medical robots are widely used within health care settings, as evidenced by three out of four prostate operations performed by a specific surgical model. Accessibility is one of the main differentiators of this endoscopic robot, which fits on the end of conventional instruments.
Many other products are extremely expensive and take up significant space. Those characteristics make it more challenging for some facilities to adopt them. Because experiments involve people with varying levels of endoscopy experience, early investigations could increase the tool’s applicability.
Increasing robots’ versatility in demanding conditions
People often send robots to places too dangerous for humans to visit before investigating the circumstances themselves.
These machines have become useful for search and rescue missions or situations where parties suspect the presence of explosive or hazardous materials.
Pneumatic robots also function in temperatures from 40 degrees below zero to 248 degrees Fahrenheit, making them ideal for extreme settings.
Those developing these machines also must determine the most appropriate power sources, especially when frequent battery recharging becomes impractical or unfeasible. Researchers addressed that issue by making soft, flexible, six-legged robots from 3D printer filament.
They made the machines move by building a pneumatic oscillating circuit that controls the soft actuators’ repeated movements. It coordinates the robots’ legs by sending air pressure at the appropriate times and alternating its distribution between both sets of three. This approach allows four degrees of freedom, allowing the bots to walk in straight lines.
The bots can move outdoors without tethers on surfaces such as sand and turf. Experiments showed they even go underwater, expanding potential use cases. The robots work continuously for three days due to canisters of air or gas under constant pressure.
Researchers hope to broaden the functionality by adding manipulators to let these innovations pick up things or perform other tasks.
If people attach cameras or sensors to the robots, the machines could help them assess situations while remaining at a safe distance. They would then decide their next steps based on what the data feeds reveal.
Shortening pneumatic actuator development timeframes
Soft, pneumatic actuators frequently appear in collaborative robots because these components can grip items securely without breaking them. They also improve safety by preventing injuries if employees accidentally come in contact with robots in motion.
Some engineers also incorporate these pneumatic actuators into assistive wearables and rehabilitation products, expanding how the innovations can help people.
Pneumatic actuator creators often encounter bottlenecks caused by the extensive trial and error required to confirm a prototype’s feasibility. Researchers focused on that issue by creating a specific pipeline to shorten the process.
Their approach centres on a machine-knitting process to produce soft actuators, complete with conductive yarn that gives them tactile sensing capabilities.
The team created several prototypes, including an assistive glove, an interactive robot and a pneumatic walking quadruped, and wrapped them all in soft fabric.
The software used to build them allows users to preview and iterate their designs, allowing them to fabricate them only once. This benefit speeds the process and unleashes creativity.
Finding a strong pairing in pneumatics and soft robotics
These fascinating examples show why soft, pneumatically powered robots have extraordinary potential for assisting humans with various tasks. These successful outcomes show that machines and people can work together safely and productively.
The possibilities should become even more evident if these developments reach widespread adoption outside laboratories.
