Dr. Alice Agogino was researching spherical, skeletal robots that could one day be dropped on Mars or the Moon to gather information and conduct science experiments, when she realized that Its NASA-funded technology could also benefit the ground.
Reading a report about the danger and high death toll of responding to a disaster, Agogino realized that her robot, equipped with the right sensors, could collect data at the scene of a fire, and collisions, explosions, and other disasters to help first responders assess hazardous situations such as toxic gas leaks and plan their approach.
«We thought, ‘Well, if we can do this on the Moon, we can do it on planet Earth and save some lives,'» said Agogino, Director of the Laboratory Berkeley Emerging Space Tension at the University of California. Berkeley.
She went on to co-found Squishy Robotics Inc. based in Berkeley, CA. The company builds customizable, impact-resistant robots for public safety, military and industrial purposes.
Agogino’s robots look like ball-shaped skeletons made of elastic rods and cables. She describes the structure as “a web of tension” — if one of these robots were to fall, the force of the impact would be distributed across the entire lattice, dissipating the force, according to the principle of tension.
The term tension – short for tension (or tension) integrity – was coined in the 1960s by architect R. Buckminster Fuller, who popularized geodesic domes, which are also structures tension structure.
For NASA, the ability of strained robots to withstand the impact of a long fall is particularly exciting, as is the possibility that these structures could collapse into a small package during travel.
The agency awarded Agogino and her UC Berkeley lab funding an Early Stage Initiative (ESI) in 2014 to study the mobility of tension robots using thrusters. gas.
The multi-year, $500,000 proof-of-concept ESI grant is aimed at accelerating the development of innovative space technologies with significant potential. This funding is provided through the Space Technology Research Grants program, which supports academic researchers working in space-related science and technology.
Agogino and her team are designing space probes that can fall from planetary orbit or larger spacecraft, survive a fall carrying sophisticated sensors, and then roll and jump across terrain rugged to carry out scientific monitoring and missions on the Moon and other planets.
“Think about the Mars Curiosity and Perseverance rovers,” said Terry Fong, Robotics Leader in NASA’s Intelligent Robotics Group at the Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, CA.
Fong, NASA’s technical representative for the Agogino grant, explained that Mars rovers must be gently lowered to the planet’s surface using the complex, heavy, and complex Sky Crane system and only be used for the final part of the Mars landing.
“With tension robots, the robot itself is the landing gear,” says Fong. «It can survive a fall from a great height and then keep going.»
The tensioners can be folded flat for transport — in fact, that’s how Agogino ships the ones Squishy Robotics ships to customers. After the robot unfolds, the robot’s devices and sensors will be hung in the center, protected from the effects of drops or collisions.
“So you save on discarded volume,” says Fong. «Large mass launches into space are expensive and difficult, so you want to use more than just landing, being used on the surface with scientific instrumentation and other payloads.»
NASA has also been working on Earth science applications for the stress robot, which could be used to monitor, such as a glacier about to burst into the ocean.
«It’s a place you don’t want or can’t send someone to because it’s very risky,» Fong said. “The entire surface can collapse. With a structure that can survive a fall but stay mobile afterwards, you essentially have a super-tool navigation system.”
On Earth or on other planets, tension robots provide a relatively easy way to place delicate instruments in hard-to-reach areas. Indeed, that is the principle behind Squishy Robotics.
Agogino and her team began talking with the fire department and public safety officials in a process known as customer discovery. “At this point, we have interviewed about 300 first responders,” she said. “And it turns out that there is a real need for hazardous materials emergencies.”
For these customers, Squishy Robotics now places miniature chemical gas sensors inside a tense robotic structure that can be dropped by drone, helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft to read data in an area before firefighters enter. Currently, the company only offers stationary robots, but Agogino and her team are also working on mobile phone models.
The data these robots collect can inform firefighters’ decisions about whether to wear equipment made of hazardous materials, which can take up to an hour of preparation — a period of time. The delay is only worthwhile if necessary.
Squishy Robotics has worked with some of the largest fire departments, including the Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue Department in Florida, the Tulsa Fire Department in Oklahoma, and the San Jose Fire Department in California. The company has also established resale agreements with a number of distributors.
Agogino’s tension robot also has military uses, such as helping to defuse bombs, and industrial applications, primarily to help monitor gas and electricity pipelines.
Wildfire prevention is another emerging area for Squishy Robotics. Tensegrity robots can monitor high-risk areas, help authorities respond to reports and ensure that smaller fires are completely extinguished.
“Early detection of wildfires is important, because a lot of wildfires have turned into intense firestorms that could have been prevented if they had been detected early when the fires were,” said Agogino. begin.»
Agogino is now an honorary, having retired in December 2022 from Berkeley, a move that allows her to spend more time with Squishy Robotics.
NASA’s Fong said he’s excited to see Agogino be able to create tension robotic technology.
“We believe these robots can serve unique purposes for space,” he said. “She clearly saw a way to have a big impact on the Earth.”
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