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Carnegie Mellon has the coolest lab names. These plush toys, which are actually robots made on knitting machines, are for example from the CMU Matter Lab morphing laboratory and the development laboratory of the Institute for Human-Computer Interaction.
Soft robots emerge from industrial knitting machines, of the kind used to create volume scarves, in the desired shapes and with already integrated tendons. Just add stuffing motors and you'll have an adorable robot.
"Gentle robotics is a growing field," says Lea Albaugh, Ph.D. student who led the research effort. "The idea is to build robots from safe materials to be accessible to everyone, so it would be very difficult to hurt anyone." The powered soft components would be economical to produce on commercial knitting machines. "
Albaugh's research builds on previous CMU work to automate commercial knitting. Using knitting machines to coat tendons during the construction of flexible robots, researchers have identified a way to mass-produce robots with precision and efficiency.
The tendons can be integrated horizontally, vertically and diagonally in the knitted form, allowing a variety of motion effects, as shown in the integrated video. Various tendon materials may be used, including polyester wound quilting yarn, silk thread and nylon.
"We have so many soft objects in our lives and many of them could be rendered interactive with this technology," Albaugh said. "A garment could be part of your personal information system.Your sweater, for example, could hit you on your shoulder to get your attention.The fabric of a chair could serve as a haptic interface. The backpacks could open themselves. "
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