Fondazione Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia

Fameccanica.data S.p.a.

UniversitÁ Degli Studi Di Genova

Darwin G Caldwell

Nikos Tsagarakis

Gianluca Pane

Matteo Laffranchi

Leonardo De Mattos

Alessandro Cipriani

WooSeok Choi

Oronzo Lucia

Jody Alessandro Saglia

Massimiliano Scaccia

Brian Lawrence Davies

Ferdinando Cannella

Nikolaos Tsagarakis

Maurizio Spiriticchio

Stefano Cordasco

Ioannis Sarakoglou

Leonardo Serra De Mattos

Mariapaola D'Imperio

Isiah Zaplana

Khelifa Baizid

Roberto Gagliardi

Emanuela Elisa Cepolina

Carlo Tacchino

Gustavo A Medrano-Cerda

Bram Vanderborght

Emidio Olivieri

Zhuoqi Cheng

Jake Goldsmith

Amir Jafari

Claudio Semini

Jian S Dai

Michele Focchi

Emanuele Guglielmino

Stephen Morfey

Brian Davies

Nikos G Tsagarakis

An apparatus and a method for dispensing discrete sections of double-sided adhesive tape, comprising a reel support unit whose position is adjustable so as to vary a length of the section of double-sided adhesive tape to be dispensed.

Apparatus and method for dispensing sections of double-sided adhesive tape

A hand-held device is provided for precisely positioning a needle tip at a desired target position into a non-homogeneous material, including a blood vessel. The hand-held device includes a casing hand-held by an operator, a shaft extending along a longitudinal axis and carrying the needle, the shaft mounted in the casing and coupled to the casing to move as a single piece therewith along the longitudinal axis. The hand-held device further includes a sensor unit to provide signals indicative of a physical characteristic of the material wherein the needle tip has to be inserted, and a control unit configured to determine, based on the signals received from the sensor unit, whether the needle tip has reached the target position and to operate a decoupling unit to decouple the shaft and the needle from the casing or to operate an actuating unit to actively move the shaft relative to the casing.

Hand-held device for inserting a needle into a non-homogeneous material

An optical orientation device includes a support structure; an optical element having an optical surface interacting with a laser beam; and a mechanism mounted on the support structure rotating the optical element around mutually perpendicular first and second fixed rotation axes. The mechanism includes a first rotary assembly articulated around a first mobile support axis, which is rotary and perpendicular relative to the first rotation axis. The first rotary assembly is coupled to the support structure to rotate around the first rotation axis, so the optical element rotates around the first rotation axis and the first mobile support axis. A second rotary assembly rotates around a second mobile support axis perpendicular to the first mobile support axis. The beam passes through a cavity around the first rotation axis, the cavity facing the optical element. First and second linear actuators rotate the first rotary assembly and the second rotary assembly, respectively.

Device for the spherical orientation of an optical element, in particular for directing a light beam, such as a laser beam

A humanoid robot foot () comprises: a foot base (), at least one leaf spring () acting as a flexible toe of the foot, said at least one leaf spring () having a rear portion () rigidly connected to a flat surface () of the foot base (), a front portion () projecting from the foot base () and an intermediate portion () which is not rigidly connected to the foot base () and is therefore freely deflectable, along with the front portion (), as a result of the application of an external force on the front portion (), and a stiffness adjustment device () for actively changing the stiffness (K) of said at least one leaf spring (). The stiffness adjustment device () comprises a roller assembly (), which is held in contact with the intermediate portion () of said at least one leaf spring () and is movable relative to said at least one leaf spring () along a longitudinal axis (x) of said at least one leaf spring (), and an actuation unit () arranged to move the roller assembly (), and hence the point of contact (P) of the roller assembly () with said at least one leaf spring (), thereby varying the length (l) of the cantilevered portion of said at least one leaf spring (), and hence the stiffness (K) of said at least one leaf spring ().

Humanoid robot foot comprising an active variable stiffness mechanism

A module includes an oblong structure; an optical apparatus associated with the oblong structure for facing a segment arranged inside a body cavity of a patient. An actuating device is for controlling the position of the oblong structure so as to orient the optical apparatus in the body cavity. The oblong structure has a proximal portion and an end portion, which is deformable, so as to tend to remain in and elastically return to a bent condition, in which it is normally flexed. The actuating device includes a pusher member, which moves in a guided manner relative to the oblong structure and is suited to act upon the end portion, so as to angularly move it from the bent condition towards a substantially straight condition.

Distal scanning module, in particular to control the aiming and the movement of an optical apparatus of a medical device, such as a diagnostic or surgical instrument

An electronic measurement unit for a polymorphous device, comprising a number of lateral structures, each lateral structure including: a support structure; at least one sensor constrained to the support structure and generating an electrical signal indicative of a deformation of the support structure; and a coupling structure that constrains a corresponding external covering element to the support structure in a releasable manner, so that when the external covering element is constrained to the support structure and an external force acts on the external covering element, the electrical signal is indicative of the external force.

Electronic measurement unit for a polymorphous device for force measurement and polymorphous device including the same

Robot

A rotary joint () includes an output member () rotatable about a first axis of rotation (x), a first actuator device () arranged to generate a rotary motion about the first axis (x), an input member () driven by the first actuator device () about the first axis (x), elastic elements () between the input member () and the output member () and configured such that the transmission of the torque takes place via the elastic elements (). A second actuator device () is arranged to change the stiffness of the rotary joint (). The rotary joint () includes an intermediate member () hinged () to the output member () to rotate relative to the output member about a second axis of rotation (x) parallel to the first axis (x), abuts at its opposite end against the elastic elements () and is hinged (), at an intermediate point thereof, to the input member () to rotate relative to the input member about a third axis of rotation (x) parallel to the first axis (x). Transmission of the torque between the input member () and the output member () takes place via the intermediate member (). The second actuator device () is arranged to change the hinge point and the distance between the second axis of rotation (x) and the third axis of rotation (x).

Stiffness adjustable rotary joint

An actuator () includes a body (), an output member () slidably received in the body () along&#x2014; a first axis (X), an electric motor () arranged to set into rotation a motor shaft () about a, second axis (X) and a motion conversion mechanism () for converting the rotary motion produced by the electric motor () about the second axis (X) into a translational motion of the output member () along the first axis (X). The motion conversion mechanism () includes a driving pulley () which is drivingly connected for rotation with the motor shaft () and an elongated mechanical transmission member which is wound onto the driving pulley () and is fastened at its two opposite ends to the output member () to draw this latter in either direction along the first axis (X) as a result of the rotation of the driving pulley () in either direction. The output member () is shaped as a rod and is received in a cylindrical cavity () of the body () so as to project partially therefrom. The elongated mechanical transmission member (S) is fastened to the output member () at axially opposite points of this latter with respect to the driving pulley ().

Linear actuator and rehabilitation device incorporating such an actuator

A device () includes a turbine () having an impeller (), and an electric generator () having a stator () provided with stator windings distributed around a cylindrical surface (X) coaxial to the impeller (), and a permanent magnet () which is rotatable relative to the stator () and is drivingly connected for rotation with the impeller (). The impeller () is housed inside the permanent magnet () and the assembly formed by the impeller () and by the permanent magnet () is housed inside the stator (). The permanent magnet () is made as a single hollow cylindrical body of high magnetic density material with diametrical magnetization.

Device for generating electric power from a source of air or other gas or fluid under pressure

Elastic rotary actuators are provided having breaking units arranged in such a way as to apply on an output member an adjustable braking torque in order to introduce adjustable damping between an input member and the output member in parallel to elastic members.

Elastic rotary actuators

An actuator and a method for controlling the actuator are described. The actuator comprises: an output member rotatable around an axis of rotation; an input member rotatable around the axis and connected for rotation with the output member via a plurality of cylindrical helical springs; a motor assembly arranged to drive the input member to rotate around the axis of rotation; first and second sensors for detecting the angular position of the input member and the relative angular position between the input member and the output member; and an electronic control unit arranged to determine a desired angular velocity of the input member on the basis of a desired value for the impedance of the actuator and to control the motor assembly on the basis of the error between the desired angular velocity of the input member and the angular velocity of the input member.

Elastic rotary actuator, particularly for robotic applications, and method for controlling the same

Growing community of inventors

Serra Ricco', Italy

Darwin G Caldwell