Leland Stanford Junior University

Nathan Scot Usevitch

Allison Mariko Okamura

Elliot Wright Hawkes

Sean Follmer

Mac Schwager

Laura H Blumenschein

Margaret M Coad

Rachel Thomasson

James Ballard

Zachary Hammond

Technology is provided for controlling the motion of soft growing robots during retraction to prevent uncontrollable buckling or bending. A double walled flexible tubular robot is provided with an inside wall, an outside wall, and a folded tip. A retraction device located at the folded tip has a routing aperture sized to encompass the inside wall and for routing the inside wall through the retraction device. The retraction device further has a retraction mechanism inside the retraction device to controllably retract material of the inside wall through the routing aperture in the direction away from the folded tip, thereby decreasing the outside wall, creating more inside wall, and as such shortening the length of the flexible robot. This technology enables behaviors, such as (1) growing in one direction, and then retracting and growing in a different direction, and (2) retracting through a confined space without applying force to the environment.

Device to allow retraction of soft growing robots without buckling

Adaptable and customizable truss-like robots are provided. The robotic truss has robotic roller modules configured to translate along one or more pliable member and therewith control the shape or design of the robot.

Reconfigurable, adaptable robotic structures

Growing community of inventors

Bothell, WA, United States of America

Nathan Scot Usevitch