Inspired by origami, Worcester Polytechnic Institute robotics engineering researchers are developing a lightweight, flexible robotic arm that will enable a wheelchair user to safely grasp, lift, and carry objects that would otherwise be out of reach.
Through the four-year project, researchers Cagdas Onal, Berk Calli, and Loris Fichera are developing a framework for the design, modeling, and control of soft continuum robotic arms, which are more flexible than traditional robot arms. The research is funded by a $1,314,792 award from the National Science Foundation.
“The basic scientific discoveries we are making in this research address real-world challenges for people who use wheelchairs and need devices that will help them grab out-of-reach objects,” said Onal, who is principal investigator (PI) on the project and an associate professor in the WPI Department of Robotics Engineering. “A new class of lightweight, safe robotic arms based on the breakthroughs we are making would give those individuals more independence in their daily activities.”
Soft continuum robotic arms expand, shrink, and bend along their entire length, like a coiled spring, to move in different directions and travel around objects. That flexibility makes soft robotics a promising technology in complicated human environments. However, soft robotic arms also tend to be weaker, more shaky, and less precise than traditional robot arms made from rigid materials.
To address the weaknesses of soft robotic arms, the researchers are developing origami-inspired designs and novel fabrication methods for modules made of lightweight plastics, 3D printed components, and off-the-shelf items such as sensors and cables. By folding flat sheets of clear plastic into springy tube-like structures, the researchers are creating modules that are strong, stiff, and resistant to twisting, all while remaining lightweight. The researchers are also developing specialized algorithms that can run on microcontroller platforms to direct the motion and reactions of a robotic arm.
The project builds on Onal’s research into user-friendly soft robotic systems capable of performing tasks that rigid robots cannot tackle. Calli, an associate professor in robotics engineering, brings expertise in object manipulation technologies, especially for robots in recycling centers. Fichera is an assistant professor in robotics engineering whose research includes work on the development of surgical robots.
“Soft robots have big potential for assistive robotics,” said Calli. “You would need a very large, rigid robot to reach the high shelves of a cabinet, for example, and installing such robots next to a user does not make sense. Soft robots could expand to reach objects and shrink to a compact size when not in use, and they would be safer for users than rigid robots. Our project will enable soft robotics for assistive uses by developing novel sensing, control, and AI technologies.”
Onal said that one goal of the research is to develop a flexible and extendable robotic arm with off-the-shelf grippers that can pick up and carry a cup of water without spilling a drop.
“It’s exciting to work with WPI colleagues and students on a project that is pushing the boundaries of this technology,” Onal said. “More importantly, this research offers an opportunity to directly impact people in a positive way by enabling them to lift, move, and carry objects that they previously might not have been able to reach from a wheelchair. That would be a real achievement.”
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Fuller Professor of Mechanical Engineering, watched a live webcast of the flight in his Multi-Scale Heat Transfer Laboratory with students who had worked on the WPI experiment.“Many people, including students and collaborators at NASA, deserve credit for working hard on this project during the years leading up to this mission,” says Yagoobi. “The results of our experiment aboard the flight confirm that our design can significantly reduce the surface temperatures of electronics in zero-gravity and much higher gravity conditions. Because of the excellent results we obtained, we are very close to commercializing our electrohydrodynamic cooling technology, as our project has reached a new level of maturity as designated by NASA’s Technology Readiness Level.”The project, funded by NASA, sought to address an out-of-this-world challenge that could have implications for future spaceships and satellites. 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NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center collaborated with the WPI team to fabricate parts for the experiment, which was vacuum-sealed inside a metal chamber and housed in a locker that measured about 24 by 24 by 18 inches. Yagoobi traveled to Blue Origin’s Texas site in August with PhD student Matthew Catuccio and Alexander Castaneda, PhD ’25, to install the final pieces of hardware on the experiment. Two others in Yagoobi’s lab, Nate O’Connor, PhD ’23, and PhD student Lindsey Podlaski, have also worked on the project.“I am extremely grateful to have been a part of this project from its early stages to now,” says Castaneda. “To see it fly on a rocket into space is extremely rewarding and feels like the next step to pushing the technology readiness of this project. 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Yagoobi also had a different experiment aboard the International Space Station for more than a year.The work was supported by the Biological and Physical Sciences Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters under NASA grants NNX16AT09G and 80NSSC22K0676.Blue Origin is a privately held space flight company owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos. The flight was the 35th and final mission for New Shepard, an autonomous and fully reusable rocket-and-capsule system built to fly people and payloads beyond the Kármán line, the boundary of outer space 62 miles above the Earth’s surface.Yagoobi continues to be passionate about space as reflected from his continuous engagement with NASA’s Goddard and Glenn Research Center.“When I was young, I dreamed about being an astronaut and traveling into space,” he says. “It has been very rewarding to work on this and other projects with so many students, researchers, and engineers who share ...
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