Development of a soft intelligent articulation with reconfiguration and modularity capabilities for robotic platforms.
The main objective of the SOFIA project is the development of a new concept of soft articulation for its integration in many different types of robotic platforms, such as humanoid robots, manipulator robots and exoskeletons. They could also be used in other platforms (i.e., medical and space devices) that require the use of articulations to generate complex movements. These articulations will be made up of soft elements that will be able to support loads for proper handling and performance of the task. The main advantages of these new articulations compared to the traditional ones based on a motor-gear unit will be: a) omnidirectional movement, b) compact and embedded design, c) easy reconfigurability, d) scalability and e) modularity to be easily integrated into robots.