Integrated Sensing for a Soft Robot used in Minimally Invasive Procedures

Project Description

Soft robots have shown promise as guiding systems for procedures inside the beating heart. One particular robot, the Stacked Balloon Actuator (SBA), has been used to delivery pacemaker leads inside in-vivo models though a minimally invasive approach. While the performance of this system has shown great promise, there is much work to be done on improving the fabrication process to produce robots with on-board sensing capabilities including inertial mass units for localizations, and force sensors to detect contact forces. The aim of this project will focus on modernizing the fabrication process of SBAs to include embedded conductive leads to achieve position and force sensing of the robot’s end effector.

The project will begin with comprehensive training on the current fabricating methods of SBAs. There will be ample opportunity to innovate on current actuator designs to improve stroke, collapsibility, and most importantly sensor integration. Thorough research on current approaches for sensor integration will be explored and the best approaches will be implemented. There will also be opportunities to explore miniaturization of current sensing technologies to meet size constraints of minimally invasive procedures.

 Mentors

Timeline

Week 1-2: Fabrication training for stacked ballon actuators, literature review of existing technologies, & introduction to actuator design software
Week 3-5: Fabrication of custom actuators designed by REU student, exploration into conductive trace methods, & design of miniaturized sensors for force/position sensing
Week 6-7: Integration of conductive traces into actuator & programming and calibration of sensors
Week 8-10: Final integration of sensors onto actuators, demo of actuator tracking targets in space using integrated sensors, & demo of actuator making contact with embedded force sensor