Traditional robots derive their capabilities of movement through rigid structural "links" and discrete actuated "joints." Alternatively, soft robots are composed of flexible materials that permit movement across a continuous range of their body and appendages and thus are not restricted in where they can bend. While trade-offs between material choices may restrain robot functionalities within a narrow spectrum, we argue that bridging the functional gaps between soft and hard robots can be achieved from a hybrid design approach that utilizes both the reconfigurability and the controllability of traditional soft and hard robot paradigms. In this study, we present a hybrid robot with soft inflated "linkages," and rigid internal joints that can be spatially reconfigured. Our method is based on the geometric pinching of an inflatable beam to form mechanical pinch-joints connecting the inflated robot linkages. Such joints are activated and controlled via internal motorized modules that can be relocated for on-demand joint-linkage configurations. We demonstrate two applications that utilize joint reconfigurations: a deployable robot manipulator and a terrestrial crawling robot with tunable gaits.

中文翻译：

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通过内部“虚拟”关节可重新配置的软联动机器人。


传统机器人通过刚性结构“链接”和离散驱动“关节”获得运动能力。或者，软体机器人由柔性材料制成，允许在其身体和附属物的连续范围内移动，因此不受弯曲部位的限制。虽然材料选择之间的权衡可能会将机器人功能限制在狭窄的范围内，但我们认为，弥合软硬机器人之间的功能差距可以通过利用传统软硬机器人范式的可重构性和可控性的混合设计方法来实现。在这项研究中，我们提出了一种混合机器人，该机器人具有柔软的充气“连杆”和可以在空间上重新配置的刚性内部关节。我们的方法基于充气梁的几何捏合，以形成连接充气机器人连杆的机械捏接头。这种关节通过内部电动模块激活和控制，这些模块可以根据需求进行关节连杆配置。我们演示了两个利用关节重新配置的应用：可部署的机器人操纵器和具有可调步态的陆地爬行机器人。