skip to main content

Explore Research Products in the NSF-PAR

  • Home
  • Search Results
  • Page 1 of 1

Search for: All records

Creators/Authors contains: "M.C. Lastinger, A. Rice"

Note: When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external site maintained by the publisher. Some full text articles may not yet be available without a charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
What is a DOI Number?

Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site.

  1. ( , IEEE Aerospace Conference)
    We discuss a novel variable topology continuum robot designed and constructed under NASA-funded research. The robot features a seven degree of freedom continuous backbone “trunk”, with two pairs of “branches”: two “tendril” effectors and two support “roots”. Each of the pairs of branches can be fully retracted inside the trunk, allowing it to penetrate congested environments as a single slender unit, and subsequently deploy the branches to perform a variety of tasks. The “roots” provide physical support, while the two effectors and trunk tip enable independent but coordinated functionality: sensing (vision) in one tendril, and manipulation at two scales, via the second tendril and the trunk tip. The specifics of the new design are described and discussed in detail. We illustrate the operation and potential applications of the new design via a series of demonstrations, particularly cleaning of dust from solar panels. 
    more » « less
    Full Text Available