High Strength Inflatable Pouch Anchors
Paul Glick, Dylan Drotman, Donald Ruffatto, Michael Thomas Tolley
Abstract
Anchoring is an important capability for mobile robots to conserve power, survey an area, or deploy a payload. However, the careful placement of an anchor in unstructured environments requires a great deal of dexterity, perception, and planning. Furthermore, many of the reversible adhesives that may be used for anchoring are surface-dependent. We introduce inflatable pouch anchors as a versatile, low-power, and easy-to-position technology for anchoring in natural surfaces. By using negative space such as gaps and cracks with a flexible pouch, the challenge of placing an anchor is greatly simplified. We used a compressed CO$_2$ canister to supply pressure, and a three-way normally-closed valve to allow for multiple uses. We tested the anchor with high friction interfaces such as microspines and gecko-inspired adhesives. We validated the performance with tests on smooth acrylic, sandpaper, manufactured rock, and natural rock. The 425 g anchor actuated at an internal pressure of 105 kPa held over 700 N when anchored in natural rock with a microspine interface.
BibTeX
@inproceedings{ral2020_highstrengthinfl,
title = {High Strength Inflatable Pouch Anchors},
author = {Paul Glick and Dylan Drotman and Donald Ruffatto and Michael Thomas Tolley},
booktitle = {RA-L 2020},
year = {2020}
}