SBIR Phase I: Lightweight Self-sensing Robotic End Effectors

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop silent assistive robotic arms and end-tools for new robotic applications. The lightweight and dexterous tools – on the end of an agile robotic arm – will be able to perform intricate tasks such as cutting, pinching, and grasping for uses as diverse as panning/tilting cameras, to assembly tasks, to picking soft fruits and berries. Beyond improved cost and energy efficiency, these new devices will enable new personal robot applications. In addition, due to their simplicity and significantly lower weight and size, the proposed products will consume fewer natural resources than their current counterparts and can be more easily recycled due to the smaller number of components, ultimately enabling greater use of assistive robotic devices. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will explore the potential of using using Shape Memory (SM) and Superelastic (SE) nitinol wires instead of motors. SM/SE wires are alloys of Nickel and Titanium that contract aggressively when heated with electrical current, producing large forces and modest stroke; they can enable lighter, more efficient robotic joints and tools to perform a variety of human tasks. The technical objectives are to design a lightweight, agile, and silent robotic arm and end effectors utilizing SM and SE nitinol wires to both drive and sense position and forces. The end effectors will be a pincher/gripper and a cutter. The arm and end tools will be designed for tasks and loads typically performed by human hands, creating new tools for applications and loads between delicate surgeries and larger-scale industrial usage. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.