Robotics engineers are used to looking to nature for inspiration. In recent years, birds, dogs, extinct sea creatures, and even humans themselves have all served as starting points for new mechanical designs. Now, researchers at Stanford University are using the long-legged He mentions the Harvestman Spider, also known as Papa. They hope this spider-like design could one day help robots navigate the ice caves of the Moon or Mars.
How does a spider robot work?
Researchers have introduced a new machine called “ReachBot.” Papers published in journals today science robotics. ReachBot has multiple extendable boom limbs that can be used to reach rocks and propel yourself forward. Attached to each limb is his three-fingered gripper, which grips rocks to use as anchor points. The long-legged design means the robot’s limbs could potentially access the floors, ceilings, and walls of lava tubes and caves, thus increasing its influence. This unique arrangement allows ReachBot to “assume a variety of configurations, support positions, and force application options,” the researchers wrote.
ReachBot seeks to bridge the form factor gap between existing exploration robots. Researchers argue that while small robots are useful for navigating narrow hallways, they typically have limited reach. In contrast, large robots may be able to reach larger areas, but may be bogged down by their heavy mass and mechanical complexity. ReachBot offers a compromise by relying on a small body with limbs that can extend and reach as needed.
The robot uses a series of on-board sensors to gauge the area in front of it, looking for concave rocks or other landmarks that suggest grabby areas. It’s like a physical spider. ReachBot does not immediately assume that the rock surface is flat, but instead looks for “rounded features that the gripper can partially surround.” The researchers say they tested the robot in simulations to improve its ability to pinpoint the surface area it can grasp and assist in footprint planning. Following the simulation, ReachBot was tested in the real world in an uninhabited lava tube near Pisgah Crater in the Mojave Desert.
“Results from the field test confirm predictions of maximum grasping force and highlight the importance of identifying and maneuvering toward convex rock features that provide a strong grip,” researchers said. are writing. “We also highlight the characteristics of grasp planning using ReachBot: locating, aiming, and extending the boom requires a higher level of effort than grasping an object in a manufacturing scenario. That’s it.”
ReachBot could help researchers explore deep caverns and caverns on other planets
Researchers believe ReachBot’s arachnid design may have applications beyond Earth. Lava tubes like the Mojave Desert, where the robot was tested, will clear areas of the moon and Mars’ surfaces. In the latter case, the researchers say Mars’ ancient subterranean environment is relatively unchanged from the time when some believed the planet may have been habitable. . These protected cave areas “have the potential to become future human habitats,” they write.
In theory, future space exploration robots could use ReachBot-like designs to explore deeper into areas inaccessible to modern robots. Elsewhere, researchers are finding that three-legged jumping machines and dog-inspired four-legged robots could similarly help scientists learn more about undiscovered regions in neighboring regions of the solar system. We are researching how it can help.