Surface and Shape Deposition Manufacturing for the Fabrication of a Curved Surface Gripper

Biological systems such as the gecko are complex, involving a wide variety of materials and length scales. Bio-inspired robotic systems seek to emulate this complexity, leading to manufacturing challenges. A new design for a membrane-based gripper for curved surfaces requires the inclusion of microscale features, macroscale structural elements, electrically patterned thin films, and both soft and hard materials. Surface and shape deposition manufacturing (S2DM) is introduced as a process that can create parts with multiple materials, as well as integrated thin films and microtextures. It combines SDM techniques, laser cutting and patterning, and a new texturing technique, surface microsculpting. The process allows for precise registration of sequential additive/subtractive manufacturing steps. S2DM is demonstrated with the manufacture of a gripper that picks up common objects using a gecko-inspired adhesive. The process can be extended to other integrated robotic components that benefit from the integration of textures, thin films, and multiple materials.

Shape Deposition Manufacturing of a Soft, Atraumatic, and Deployable Surgical Grasper

This paper details the design, analysis, fabrication, and validation of a deployable, atraumatic grasper intended for retraction and manipulation tasks in manual and robotic minimally invasive surgical (MIS) procedures. Fabricated using a combination of shape deposition manufacturing (SDM) and 3D printing, the device (which acts as a deployable end-effector for robotic platforms) has the potential to reduce the risk of intraoperative hemorrhage by providing a soft, compliant interface between delicate tissue structures and the metal laparoscopic forceps and graspers that are currently used to manipulate and retract these structures on an ad hoc basis. This paper introduces a general analytical framework for designing SDM fingers where the desire is to predict the shape and the transmission ratio, and this framework was used to design a multijointed grasper that relies on geometric trapping to manipulate tissue, rather than friction or pinching, to provide a safe, stable, adaptive, and conformable means for manipulation. Passive structural compliance, coupled with active grip force monitoring enabled by embedded pressure sensors, helps to reduce the cognitive load on the surgeon. Initial manipulation tasks in a simulated environment have demonstrated that the device can be deployed though a 15 mm trocar and develop a stable grasp using Intuitive Surgical's daVinci robotic platform to deftly manipulate a tissue analog.

RoboTrikke: Design, Modeling and Experimentation With a Robotic Trikke

In this paper we present new experimental results for a novel underactuated system called the ROBOTRIKKE. The ROBOTRIKKE is a three-wheeled system that can be driven by periodic motion of its front steering wheel combined with rocking side-to-side motion of a robotic rider. We present two new generations of the ROBOTRIKKE including a ABS model made using Shape Deposition Manufacturing (SDM). We present modeling, simulation and experimental results for gait generation for the ROBOTRIKKE using a combination of periodic inputs for the steering axis and a rider. We show how a rocking motion (as used by human riders) can be used to improve the performance of the ROBOTRIKKE.