How “Butterfly” can be applied?
To become a competent roboteer a student has to get a variety of skills like to fit component parts, integrate them and make a device work according to a required algorithm. Thus apart from lectures a young specialist has to deal with real robots. Moreover, the more complex devices you use the more skills you receive because you aim to solve nonstandard problems and accomplish unexpected challenges. That is why our development gives the best fit. It is not enough to assemble Butterfly`s details. It is also necessary to activate and program it. It is a full-fledged laboratory research.
What advantages does “Butterfly” have?
Theoretically industrial manipulators can be used at university labs as training units. However industrial equipment is very heavy and dangerous. It may harm in case of defective operation. Moreover, these devices are very expensive.
Thus our goal is to develop safe equipment. We were the first who developed a device, which manipulates a material think using nonprehensile manipulation method. For example, one rolls a small ball on a hand. One doesn`t hold it, the ball rolls over the hand surface due to gravity. It doesn`t fall because one manipulates it. Our development is based on the same principle (watch a video).
To construct digital devices and interactive objects university labs usually use “Arduino” units that can serve as a base for different devices. Your development is simpler. It consists of a butterfly-shaped loop, which manipulates a small ball. How it can be applied?
“Arduino” is very useful but it is not right to affirm that using “Arduino” one can develop any device. For example, a four-legged robot developed by Boston Dynamics. It holds one's ground after kicking (watch it here). Our device is similar. A robot bases on joint work of different sensors. For example, “Butterfly” has a special camera, which analyzes ball`s moving. The firs useful exercise is to calibrate it. Then it is necessary to calculate motion path. We are going to include several loops: circle, ellipse and butterfly-shaped loop. It gives an opportunity to provide a variety of calculations.
Why nobody developed it before?
Operating principle of this system was invented long time ago. Many researchers developed similar systems to solve particular problems. We invented several analytic methods and numerical procedures of motion path calculation. Generally speaking applications of this technology are multiple. A robot is very complicated construction. Its motion path can be easily dislocated by external influence. For instance, an engineer programs a robot, which cuts a metal. A hardware and software can be perfect but if a position of iron sheet is incorrect a detail will be crooked. The main achievement of our device is that it analyzes environment changes. It gives an opportunity to adjust loop path to ball path.
Where “Butterfly” can be used?
Technologies based on this principle can be used as equipment for emergency situations. For instance a special device, which aims to take out containers with poison liquid from contaminated zone and remove them without spilling.
Currently we develop laboratory facilities for technical universities. We take into account needs of our potential clients in order to bring our device to market.
Aleksander Pushkash
News portal editorial office