Available for licensed manufacturing. Patent Pending.
Overview of existing marketplace:
Recently there have been numerous breakthroughs in soft robotics. The use of air pressure or other means with soft and hard elastic materials to deform, shape or move parts of or entire bodies of robots. The primary way that current soft robot structures are “moved” use Dielectric Elastomer Actuators (DEA), Shape memory polymers (SMP), Shape memory alloys, Pneumatic artificial muscles. Each of these current approaches have drawbacks. And most require sensors to control the position and movement, again a problem with accurate positioning of the object movement. With DEA, high voltage is required with reduces the ability to use this approach in different environments. Pneumatic systems suffer from the compressed or decompression system needed to operate the artificial muscle. Fluid or gases are pumped or vacuumed using external systems, making the entire system large and complex. The combined system cannot support it’s own weight generally. These are just some of the issues this new invention solves.
The invention proposed will provide very accurate control, deformation and movement to soft structures. These techniques can be best described as an Elastic Electro Magnetic Muscle. The invention is based upon the patent application by Franklin Mayfield on printed electro magnets. The processed explained include 3D printing various materials to create the product described. Very small electro magnets can be used to perform in the methods described in this invention. But printed electro magnets provide the greatest flexibility of design, scalability, and control of complex muscle structures.
Brief Summary:
A series of printed electro magnetic coils, bars or plates within a mix of rubber/silicon like printable material that can allow for a range of motion, shapes, and joints. By electrifying the individual or groups of magnets with opposing or attracting magnetic poles, the deformation of the structure will cause it to move. This deformation can be controlled in very accurate, and specific ways.
This combination can be used to produce prosthetics, with great complexity, dexterity and control. Robot structures; soft machines can have a wide range of movement based upon controlled combinations of related groups of “muscles” activated or deactivated.
For more detail, and if your firm is interested in licensing this Patent Pending invention.
