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Researchers in the UCSD Robotics lab have developed a duct-exploring robot based on the principles of tensegrity, a structural design paradigm which combines components under pure tension and pure compression to make mass efficient, accurately controllable structures.
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Tensegrity robots have the advantage of being light and flexible. DucTT is built from rigid aluminum tubes and space-age cables that keep its structure together. Researchers chose aluminum over 3D-printed materials to make the robot more resilient.DucTT [has] an extensive range of motion with a small number of actuators. The batteries, electronics, motors (actuators), and strain gauges (sensors) are all embedded within the tubes of the structure to shield them from the gas or liquid that may be flowing within the duct during the inspection.
[It] moves in an inchworm-like fashion along the length of ducts or tubes in any orientation, and can accurately negotiate the intersection of two or more ducts in a controlled, deliberate fashion. Much of the volume of the bars is devoted to the batteries themselves, and thus DucTT can run for up to six hours continuously, untethered, on a single charge.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday October 23 2015, @09:44PM
I don't think there is enough info in the story to make any judgment about efficiency.
Charge for two, run for six? How far does it actually move in 6 hours, and how much actual work is done?
The videos suggest Its not a particularly fast device, and can't do much besides move itself.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.