Harvard milliDelta Robot Is Incredibly Fast

Researchers at Harvard have been working on a robot that is built using a design inspired by origami and it is incredibly fast. The bot can move at velocities of 0.45 m/s and accelerate at 215 m/s squared. Robots of this sort inspired by origami creations are some of the most useful out there being able to bend and move with potential for use in factories where they could move at speeds humans can't replicate.

milliDelta is a very small robot that has stationary motors. It differs in design from most bots that have motors on the limbs meaning more weight to move. Since the bot is always parallel to the work surface, it's ideal for pick-and-place operations. milliDelta is 15mm x 15mm x 20mm and weighs only 430 milligrams. It has a payload capacity of 1.3 grams.

It can move around its 7-cubic millimeter workspace with a precision of about 5 micrometers. It's able to use that speed and acceleration we mentioned before and follow repeating patterns at frequencies of up to 75Hz. The videos below shows the bot in action.

The bot is powered by piezoelectric actuators that are designed to bend as a voltage is applied to them. The components of the bot are made using a sandwich of carbon fiber or structural elements, Kapton film for flexible components, and sheets and heat and pressure sensitive adhesive.

Currently, the robots are made using laser-micromachining into the right shape and then assembled using a jig. The researchers think that a pop-up fab approach could be used in the future to automate the assembly process. This could mean that a milliDelta could be used to build more milliDeltas.

SOURCE: Spectrum