Angus B. Clark

Malleable robotics is my personal area of robotics, where variable stiffness allows for an adaptable robot, capable of having both soft and rigid advantages at will. Specific uses cases include medical robotics and grippers, where soft robots can navigate to desired locations, and through variable stiffness can adapt and while rigid perform the required task. Taking this technology to industrial robotics, variable stiffness can be applied to allow robots to adapt in topology, increasing and/or changing the overall workspace of the robot, without increasing the complexity of the control architecture with increased degrees of freedom. Further, the reduction in joints allows for cheaper, simple, and lighter robotics, which is a specific advantage for robotics destined for the space industry.

Check my projects:

Assessing the performance of variable stiffness continuum structures of large diameter Stiffness-tuneable limb segment with flexible spine for malleable robots Design and Workspace Characterisation of Malleable Robots

In many robotic applications robots interact with environment, specifically in environments designed for humans where robots must deal with day-to-day tasks that while we find easy, can be challenging for robots. The vast variety of tasks that need to be overcome to allow robots to excel in different industries allows for the design of multiple types of grippers, all providing different advantages for different use cases. Where soft or rigid, multi-fingered or singular design, fully-contained or externally powered, microscopic or macro, there is a gripper for every task. The recent expansion of grippers in the world of soft robotics has produced adaptable grippers, capable of handling varying objects with ease. This specific area of robotics is of interest, as the simplicity of design with increased capability is highly desirable.

Check my projects:

A Passively Compliant Idler Mechanism for Underactuated Dexterous Grippers with Dynamic Tendon Routing Force Evaluation of Tendon Routing for Underactuated Grasping Systematic object-invariant in-hand manipulation via reconfigurable underactuation: Introducing the RUTH gripper An origami-inspired variable friction surface for increasing the dexterity of robotic grippers The RUTH Gripper: Systematic Object-Invariant Prehensile In-Hand Manipulation via Reconfigurable Underactuation

In controlled environments, robots excel at performing complicated tasks. However, in the event of a disaster, the environment is anything but controlled, providing a significant challenge for robots to overcome. Not only must the robots be reliable in performance, they must also be efficient in their capability. For example, in the case of rescue robotics, robots must get to victims quickly and safely, and provide the care needed without causing further harm to the person. In such cases, time is critical, further complicating the task of the robot. This substantial challenge has so far produced some incredible and innovative designs, and as such is a very interesting field to work in. Further, the 'simple' but important aim of the robots allows for a very specific goal-driven design focus.

Exoskeletons and prosthetics, both medical applications of robotics, are challenged with the comparison to existing, or pre-existing capability provided by human limbs, be it arms, hands, or legs. Thus, they have a significant challenge to overcome, however any and all progress made is an improvement upon the loss of a limb or capability. Like bio-inspired robotics, we must look towards the exact properties of the human body, and attempt to replicate those in robotics, at the same time as providing an aesthetically pleasing device similar in form, function, weight, and feel to our own body. Taking this one step further, exoskeletons aim to improve upon our own human limitations, increasing our strength, providing safety in joint limitations, and increasing our stamina.

Check my projects:

A Continuum Manipulator for Open-Source Surgical Robotics Research and Shared Development A Scalable Variable Stiffness Revolute Joint Based on Layer Jamming for Robotic Exoskeletons Olympic: a modular, tendon-driven prosthetic hand with novel finger and wrist coupling mechanisms

Robots have an important role to play in their use in Hazardous Environments, due to their robustness and ability to endure significantly harsher conditions than humans are capable of. Areas of use range from distaster relief, providing search and rescue in post earthquake or tsunami conditions, or providing rapid mapping capabilities spanning thousands of miles helping locate missing persons, to extreme conditions such as high voltage, radiation, or temperature, where manipulation for performing tasks in such areas is required. Robots can provide an advanced level of interaction with the environment, allowing us to extend our capabilities past our own limitations.

Check my projects:

Flapping Foils for Marine Propulsion