真乄科技業的頂尖投資團隊

過去幾年，MIT電腦科學與人工智慧實驗室（CSAIL)已經開發出了各種功能強大的機器人：有的能像獵鷹一樣飛，有的能像鴿子一樣棲息，還有的能像箭魚一樣游泳。近日，CSAIL的機器人名單上又多了一款功能更為強大的機器人，它能像蛇一樣滑行。

在本周的IEEE / RSJ智慧型機器人和系統國際會議上，CSAIL研究人員表明將開發一個柔軟的機器人手臂。其靈感來源於章魚觸鬚，這款機器人手臂能夠在沒有人為操控的情況下在細管一樣狹窄的環境中穿行。
這款手臂由3D列印模具組裝而成，是CSAIL最近專案之一，致力於開發柔軟型的機器人，讓機器人更靈活，更有彈性，更能適應各種環境。

傳統“堅硬”型機器人由於連接關節的弊病而有諸多限制，他們不能夠在狹窄的空間中移動，並且必須安裝特別堅硬的部件，以此應對諸如建築崩塌等種種危險。但柔軟型機器人的可變性關節，意味著它能夠在各種環境下移動自如，比如鑽進細管，變換方向等。此外，由於機器富有彈性，它還能應對輕微的衝撞，並能通過衝撞來獲取環境資訊。

但設計出這樣一個獨特而強大的機器人並不是一件易事。為了得出一個讓機器人能適應各種環境的彈性值，該團隊需要進行大量實驗和複雜而精密的計算。

“為讓機器人能夠勝任各種環境，我們將其置身於不同的環境，進行複雜的計算，得出各種環境的臨界值。此外，這款所謂的‘柔軟’機器人仍然需要一些堅硬的構造，諸如高壓制動器等。要在口香糖一樣柔軟的機器人上安裝這樣的硬東西，需要攻克很多難關。所以，要成功開發一款真正功能強大的柔軟型機器人，我們還任重而道遠。”負責人Marchese如是說。

此外，Marchese表示其研發的初衷是改變大家對機器人的既定看法，而不是讓柔軟機器人佔領未來的世界。在這個機器人越來越常見，機器人威脅論甚囂塵上的時代，這種無傷害力的橡膠柔軟機器人可以緩解人類的擔憂。

Over the last few years, researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) have developed biologically inspired robots designed to fly like falcons, perch like pigeons, and swim like swordfish. The natural next step? Slithering like snakes.

At this week’s IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, CSAIL researchers will present their work to develop a soft robotic arm, inspired by the design of octopus tentacles, that can snake through a pipelike environment without a human operator.

The arm, which was fabricated using 3-D-printed molds, is the latest in a series of projects in CSAIL Director Daniela Rus’ research group that focus on the burgeoning field of soft robots, which have the potential to be safer, more resilient, and more efficient for certain tasks than their rigid-bodied counterparts.

The mobility of traditional “hard” robots is limited by their fixed joints: They can’t move in confined spaces, and have to be programmed very precisely to avoid collisions that might harm them or their environments.

In contrast, the deformable structures of soft robots means they can squeeze into tight spots and change direction more nimbly. They are also resilient enough to handle minor collisions — and potentially even use these encounters to gain information about their surroundings.

In the case of CSAIL’s robot arm, the research team — which is led by doctoral candidate Andrew Marchese and also includes Rus and PhD student Robert Katzschmann — developed complex algorithms to determine the body curvature needed for the robot to make a diversity of different motions.

“To move a robot to a particular point in space, you have to determine the specific set of curved arcs needed to get there, which is a tricky task in itself,” Marchese says. “Now imagine moving it through a compact space like a pipe, and having a whole array of points that need to be reached over time. That goal makes the underlying programming much more complicated."

For all of soft robotics’ potential, the field’s relative newness means that researchers are still exploring the best approaches to topics like motion planning and actuation.

For example, the robotic arm is so soft that a typical motor shaft cannot be attached. Instead, the CSAIL team fashioned hollow, expandable channels on both sides of the arm that, when pressurized with air, put strain on the elastic silicone and cause it to change shape like a balloon, allowing the arm to bend to one side.

Another unique feature is that the arm is made completely of silicone rubber — a constraint that challenged the team to develop the necessary programming for a robot that, with its 100 percent soft body, is better suited to navigating human environments.

“Many so-called ‘soft’ robots have still had ‘hard’ elements, like high-pressure actuators and aluminum parts that hold everything together,” Marchese says. “Designing away all the hard components forces us to think about the more difficult questions. Is it possible to do useful manipulation with a robot that’s as soft as chewing gum?”

The arm is the latest step in a line of research that could have applications ranging from finely tuned tasks in factories to handling delicate specimens in research labs to assisting in certain kinds of minimally invasive surgeries. The next version of the arm will include a finger-gripper that the team will use to pick up and place objects.

As robots become a growing presence in people’s lives, safety concerns loom large, and Marchese says that projects like this demonstrate that the answer may rest with rubber.

“I’m not saying that the world should be filled with robotic octopus tentacles on assembly lines,” Marchese says. “I just want to challenge the notion that robots have to look or act a certain way.”

https://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/snakelike-robotic-arm-0915