(Press-News.org) Researchers at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) have developed a new soft joint model for robots with an asymmetrical triangular structure and an extremely thin central column. This breakthrough, recently patented, allows for versatility of movement, adaptability and safety, and will have a major impact in the field of robotics.
“The main feature of this new design is that it allows greater bending angles to be achieved with less force, providing the robots with great versatility and adaptability of movement,” explains Concha Monje, professor in the UC3M Department of Systems Engineering and Automation and principal researcher on the SOFIA project. “In addition, by introducing asymmetry in the design, the joint is structurally blocked when bending limits imposed by the design itself are reached, which prevents the joint material from breaking or exceeding its elastic limit and provides greater operational protection for the robots,” she adds.
Keeping with the theme of safety, the researcher points out that the flexible material from which the joint is made facilitates the absorption of any impacts that the robots may cause during the performance of their tasks, resulting in increased safety in their interactions with humans. This flexibility also allows for operations to be carried out in confined environments or in handling situations that require greater adaptability to the work environment. “And that's not all: this type of joint can function as an independent actuation module or connected with other joint modules to form a highly functional robotic handling chain,” says Concha Monje.
Another characteristic of the soft joint is that it bends with a constant curvature, which significantly simplifies its mathematical model. This facilitates the design of control systems that allow robust operation at a very low computational cost.
Finally, the researcher highlights the fact that the joint can be manufactured using standard 3D printers, with elastic materials that do not require a large investment, allowing for rapid and very economical manufacturing.
Currently, the UC3M RoboticsLab team is developing a robotic claw whose fingers feature the patented joint design. This allows it to grip objects with a high degree of dexterity, facilitated by the different contact surfaces with which the robotic arm can engage in order to attain said grip.
Patent reference: C.A. Monje, C. Relaño, L.F. Nagua, S. Martínez, C. Balaguer, Eslabón para articulación blanda y articulación blanda que comprende dicho eslabón. P202030726. 19/06/2024. Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.
https://consultas2.oepm.es/InvenesWeb/detalle?referencia=P202030726
https://consultas2.oepm.es/ceo/jsp/busqueda/busqRapida.xhtml
Video: https://youtu.be/xLsAu63Je7g
END
UC3M patents a new design for a soft robotic joint that is more adaptable and robust
2025-02-06
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Nutrition labels meant to promote healthy eating could discourage purchases
2025-02-06
Some food labels designed to nudge Americans toward healthier food choices can have the opposite effect, new University of Florida research shows.
The study is particularly compelling because it comes as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration weighs whether to require front-of-package food labels. Through a newly proposed rule, the agency introduced labels highlighting saturated fat, sodium and added sugar. Each value on the labels, a percent of the recommended daily value, corresponds to one of three levels: low, medium and high.
The UF/IFAS study, published in the journal Food Policy, examined front-of-package labels professing the contents inside as “healthy.” ...
A new way to detect inflammation
2025-02-06
CLEVELAND—Nearly every disease has an inflammatory component, but blood tests can’t pinpoint inflammation in specific organs or tissues in the human body.
Now researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed a method to detect inflammation using antibodies, potentially leading to blood tests for disease-specific biomarkers such as for heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and various cancers. Their breakthrough also holds promise for drug discovery.
“This research opens up an amazing number of pathways ...
Crohn's & Colitis Congress® spotlights key IBD research findings
2025-02-06
San Francisco, CA (Feb. 5, 2025) – The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation and the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) are excited to host the annual Crohn’s & Colitis Congress®, taking place Feb. 6-8, in San Francisco, CA. This premier event will showcase cutting-edge research, innovative technologies, and advanced patient care strategies set to transform the lives of one in 100 Americans living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Below ...
Vanilla farmers search for a crop and conservation sweet spot
2025-02-06
Vanilla is vital to the livelihoods of farmers in Madagascar, where the globally popular dessert ingredient is the country’s No. 1 export. A fun, thought-provoking game designed by a team of scientists and played by Malagasy vanilla farmers reveals the challenges of payment programs that incentivize forest conservation in the region, according to a study led by the University of California, Davis.
The study, published in the February issue of the journal Biological Conservation, found that even amid volatile markets and climate uncertainties, farmers highly value their vanilla crops, which are tied ...
Global “sisterhood” seeks to understand what makes a healthy vaginal microbiome
2025-02-06
Vaginas host a complex microcosm of bacteria and yeasts that can fluctuate over time. However, little is known about these microbial communities and their roles in a person’s health, and 9 out of 10 studies only include participants from one continent, resulting in major geographical gaps in data. In a paper publishing February 6 in the Cell Press journal Trends in Microbiology, scientists share insights gleaned from a “sisterhood” of thousands of citizen scientists and demonstrate how international collaboration can help illuminate the gaps in our knowledge about the vaginal microbiome, including which bacteria are helpful ...
Announcing the winners of the 5th annual Rising Black Scientists Awards
2025-02-06
Four early-career scientists share how they’ve harnessed features of their lives—from music to AI technology—to inspire their career and uplift communities. Each winner receives $10,000 for their science with essays published in the journal Cell
Cell Press, Cell Signaling Technology (CST), and the Elsevier Foundation are proud to announce the winners of the 5th annual Rising Black Scientists Awards: Jheannelle Johnson of Stanford University; Victor Ekuta, MD, of the Morehouse School of Medicine; Kenna Gloria Agbugba of Philander Smith ...
Food: Cracking the method for the ‘perfect’ boiled egg
2025-02-06
A new method pioneered to optimally cook both the yolk and white (or albumen) of a boiled chicken egg has been published in Communications Engineering. The approach, which the authors call periodic cooking, yields an evenly-cooked egg with a higher nutritional content than shell-on eggs cooked by conventional boiling or sous vide methods.
The yolk and white in chicken eggs cook at two different temperatures: the albumen cooks at 85 degrees Celsius, while the yolk cooks at 65 degrees Celsius. Conventional methods for cooking ...
Cannabis use disorder emergency department visits and hospitalizations and 5-year mortality
2025-02-06
About The Study: In this cohort study of all residents of Ontario, Canada, individuals with incident hospital-based cannabis use disorder care were at markedly increased risk of death compared with the general population. These findings suggest important clinical and policy implications, given global trends toward cannabis legalization and market commercialization accompanied by increasing cannabis use and cannabis use disorders.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Daniel ...
COVID-19 pandemic and rates of common ophthalmic procedures among Medicare beneficiaries
2025-02-06
About The Study: The results of this study show that the COVID-19 pandemic caused a notable drop in the number of common ophthalmic procedures among Medicare beneficiaries, especially in laser peripheral iridotomy, while eye drug injections saw minimal changes. The Northeast experienced the largest reductions, highlighting the pandemic’s association with changes in eye care and indicating a need for focused recovery efforts in the hardest hit areas.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Jessica D. Randolph, MD, email jessica.randolph@vcuhealth.org.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2024.6065)
Editor’s ...
Updated drug information handout outdoes FDA’s version
2025-02-06
A clinical trial comparing a one-page medication handout proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with an updated version developed by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh that quantifies a drug’s risk and benefits showed that the latter was more informative and helped patients feel better equipped to make decisions.
Published today in JAMA Network Open, the study, which used the drug mifepristone as an example, highlights the importance of communicating risks and benefits of prescription medications – ...