更亲切，更温和的机械臂引导其内部的大象和章鱼

原文链接：https://newatlas.com/robotics/robotic-arm-elephant-octopus/

The arm employs what is known as a trimmed helicoid structure         EPFL/Alain Herzog

机械臂采用了一种被称为切边螺旋面的结构。                                       EPFL/Alain Herzog

In order to function safely alongside human workers, robotic arms shouldn't be hard and unyielding. An experimental new arm was designed with that fact in mind, as it mimics soft n' squishy elephant trunks and octopus tentacles.

为了与人类工人一起安全工作，机械臂不应该是坚硬的。一种实验性的新手臂是考虑到这一事实而设计的，因为它模仿了柔软的象鼻和章鱼触手。

The prototype device is being developed by scientists at Switzerland's EPFL research institute and the Netherlands' Delft University of Technology (TU Delft).

该原型装置由瑞士EPFL研究所和荷兰代尔夫特理工大学的科学家开发。

A series of electric actuators run in a row down its core, linked end-to-end by flexible connectors. Surrounding that core is an open-mesh structure, the polymer elements of which are arranged in a springy spiral (or "helicoid") configuration.

一系列电动执行器沿着其核心成排运行，通过柔性连接器端到端连接。围绕该核心的是开放式网状结构，其聚合物元件以弹性螺旋（或“螺旋”）构型排列。

 

By strategically trimming those elements in different parts of the structure, it was possible to adjust the degree to which it bends and deforms in different directions. In this manner, the team was able to make the arm externally soft and pliable enough to not hurt people it might bump into, yet still firm enough to protect its actuators and other internal electronics from impacts.

 

通过战略性地修剪结构不同部分的这些元素，可以调整结构在不同方向上弯曲和变形的程度。通过这种方式，该团队能够使手臂外部足够柔软和柔韧，不会伤害到可能撞到的人，但仍然足够坚固，可以保护其致动器和其他内部电子设备免受冲击。

The device is also much more flexible than traditional robotic arms that only bend at shoulder, elbow and wrist joints. For this reason, along with its human-friendliness, the scientists believe that the arm would be ideally suited to tasks such as fruit-picking and other agricultural work, caring for the elderly, or assembly line work.

该设备也比只在肩部、肘部和手腕关节弯曲的传统机械臂灵活得多。出于这个原因，再加上它对人类的友好，科学家们认为，这只手臂非常适合水果采摘和其他农业工作、照顾老人或流水线工作。

"Through the invention of a new architectured structure, the trimmed helicoid, we've designed a robot arm that excels in control, range of motion, and safety," said the project leader, EPFL's Prof. Josie Hughes. "When the novel architecture is combined with distributed actuation – where multiple actuators are placed throughout a structure or device – this robot arm has a vast range of motion, high precision, and is inherently safe for human interaction."

项目负责人、EPFL的Josie Hughes教授表示：“通过发明一种新的建筑结构，即修剪过的螺旋面，我们设计出了一种在控制、运动范围和安全性方面都很出色的机械臂。”。“当这种新型架构与分布式驱动相结合时——在整个结构或设备中放置多个致动器——这种机械臂具有广阔的运动范围、高精度，并且对人类互动本质上是安全的。”

The arm technology is now being commercialized via spinoff company Helix Robotics. A paper on the research was recently published in the journal NPJ Robotics.

该手臂技术目前正通过分拆公司Helix Robotics实现商业化。一篇关于这项研究的论文最近发表在《NPJ机器人学》杂志上。

 

Source: EPFL

来源：EPFL

 

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