In this paper, we present the design of a novel, hybrid multipurpose robotic platform equipped with a pair of graspers to synergize grasping, manipulation, and locomotion. The multipurpose grasper consists of two underactuated fingers with an active gripping surface, which passively conforms to an object while grasping. Each finger has a spring loaded synchronous belt drive which functions as the active gripping surface. The grasper is capable of handling a range of objects with irregular geometry and size. Two such underactuated graspers are connected through a serial kinematic chain and this provides the platform both manipulation and locomotion capability. Graspers act as “legs” or “wheels” of the robot during locomotion and can easily adapt to terrain variations. Fewer number of actuators, simple and scalable kinematic structure, and computationally efficient control are some of the main features of the design. Design details and kinematic analysis are presented. Experiments were conducted on a prototype robot to demonstrate multiple modes of operation.

This paper presents the design of a single use disposable compliant surgical tooltip for a tele-operated surgical robot. The proposed design aims at mitigating bio-fouling of surgical tools. By implementing a monolithic design for surgical tooltip, the cleaning and sterilization processes needed after every surgery for traditional surgical robotic tools is considerably simplified. The proposed design has 3 degrees of freedom (DOF) with a modified serpentine joint for enhanced buckling strength and off-axis stiffness. A magnetic force based coupling is proposed as a means of transferring power through a hermetic barrier to maneuver the tooltip. The tooltip is thus coupled through a hermetically sealed tool shaft preventing biological material from entering the tool shaft. By having a pluggable tooltip, modularity is also achieved by interchangeable tooltip instead of replacing the whole tool during surgery. A prototype of the proposed design is developed and its functional performance is validated. Owing to the magnetic nexus which forms the magnetic coupling, the tool is named MagNex.