Project Category: Mechanical
Join our presentation
About our project
The aim of our design is to create an airbag for humanoids that can automatically deploy to prevent humanoids from sustaining major damage through impact after falling.
For our design, we want a compact system that can be placed anywhere on the humanoids body and be used to deploy an airbag on detecting a fall. We have a carbon dioxide cylinder connected to a bicycle inflator which controls the release of carbon dioxide using a valve. This valve is connected to a servo motor using a customized part and the servo is controlled using an Arduino which detects the fall from a sensor.
When the Arduino detects fall, the carbon dioxide is released which travels through a pipe into the airbag, thus protecting the part from getting damaged.
The cost :350 $+ GST.
Meet our team members
Manvir Romana
Nur E Faiz Kazi
Ahmed Madbouly
Dominick Caones
Rami Abdelnafie
Details about our design
HOW OUR DESIGN ADDRESSES PRACTICAL ISSUES
The aim of the design was to create an airbag system for robots which would work in a similar way to an airbag system in cars, but in this case for a fall.
Difference from traditional airbag systems:
The idea of the design is for it to be modular, rather than a single set piece, which allows it to be placed on the body of a humanoid, without limiting other functions. Current alternatives cover up entire parts of robots. The design we have made is simply a proof of concept as it uses only one cylinder and inflates one airbag at the time, but with sufficient power it could inflate multiple airbags.
WHAT MAKES OUR DESIGN INNOVATIVE
The primary aim of our design was to simply protect several parts, especially sensitive and delicate sensors, of the robot without any disturbance to its functions. The motion sensor and the Arduino are used to detect a fall, and deploy the airbag. These devices with the right sensors can be calibrated to deploy selected airbags rather than the entire system. So, whilst we can only use one airbag for now, the idea provides greater benefits if utilized with more airbags.
WHAT MAKES OUR DESIGN SOLUTION EFFECTIVE
The design choices that were made to have an effective design include but are not limited to:
- Modular piecing of parts helps users assemble at any given time and place.
- Custom 3-D printed parts that allow the design to stay together and work effectively.
- Arduino and breadboard to read sensor output, and detect fall.
HOW WE VALIDATED OUR DESIGN SOLUTION
The design validation was done using the following criteria:
- Protection of user
Carbon dioxide cylinders can reach extremely low temperatures whilst being deployed, so the cylinders are placed inside a holder, to mitigate any risk from the cold metal. The cylinder is also surrounded by a layer of foam, which stops the user from getting their fingers frozen while replacing the cylinder.
- Design Material
The overall design was made out of 2 types of materials, PETG and PLA.
The PETG design is much lighter, but far less durable than the PLA design.
Depending on the weight requirement, the user can pick what design to use.
- Design Modularity Every single component set in the design can be arranged separately and connected together.
FEASIBILITY OF OUR DESIGN SOLUTION
The solution involves modular design that uses carbon dioxide cylinders.
- Cost: The design is about $200 to manufacture, and set up for the first time. Running the design subsequently will cost the users about 60$ for every 10 cylinders they use. They will also have to eventually replace the valve and the pipe due to carbon dioxide residue.
- Weight : The design fulfils the project criteria of being under 340 g. Lesser fill-in or changing manufacturing processes can lower the weight even more.
- Quality: The PLA design is highly durable, but is quite heavy.
- Time requirement- The design needs to be calibrated and set up for different instances and placement.
- Practicality: Robots are being used more and more in real life scenarios, so eventually people will want to protect these devices. So, a modular device can help protect the parts that need to be protected.
Partners and mentors
We, the team working on the airbag for humanoid robot project, would like to express
our sincere appreciation and gratitude to our project’s sponsor Dr. Alex Ramirez-Serrano
and our designated teaching assistant Malcolm Macdonald for their continuous guidance,
suggestions, comments, and support during the term of this project. Their invaluable
input due to their immense knowledge in their fields and their broad knowledge beyond
the spectrum of their fields has come to our aid countless times. The project would not
have reached this stage in its progress without their contributions.
Our photo gallery
References
[1] ” Libraries, ” Arduino.cc. Retrieved October 25,2020 from, https://www.arduino.cc/reference/en/libraries/
[2] S. Kajita et al., “Impact acceleration of falling humanoid robot with an airbag,” 2016 IEEE-RAS 16th International Conference on Humanoid Robots (Humanoids), 2016, pp. 637-643, doi: 10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2016.7803341. Retrieved October 4,2021 from, https://ieeexplore-ieee-org.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/document/7803341
[3] Tinkercad Website, https://www.tinkercad.com/dashboard
[4] S. -T. Hsieh and C. -L. Lin, “Fall Detection Algorithm Based on MPU6050 and Long-Term Short-Term Memory network,” 2020 International Automatic Control Conference (CACS), 2020, pp. 1-5, doi: 10.1109/CACS50047.2020.9289769.
[5] Ackerman, E., ” Airbags could protect humanoid robots from catastrophic falls,” IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://spectrum.ieee.org/airbags-could-protect-humanoid-robots-from-catastrophic-falls.
[6] Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia – IIT, “ A New Disaster Response Robot to Assist Rescue Workers to Operate Safely,” (2018), Phys.org. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://phys.org/news/2018-07-centauro-disaster-response-robot-workers.html.
[7 ] Arstechnica,“The Race to Human-Powered Robot Athletes Is Already Underway,”OpenForum. Retrieved November 12, 2021, from https://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?p=34416261.
[8] Poppy Project, “3D Printable Propeller for Poppy Humanoid”, (2016), MyMiniFactory.Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-propeller-for-poppy-humanoid-36103
[9] Tucker,M., “Free Fall Tool Harness and Airbag System”, (2013), Behance. Retrieved November 5, 2021, from https://www.behance.net/gallery/11232605/Free-Fall-Tool-Harness-and-Airbag-System)
[10]Tucker,M., “Free Fall Tool Harness and Airbag System,” Retrieved November 5 2021 from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-air-bags-work/
[11] Huffman Pearley,J., “The Physics Of Airbags, ”CarandDriver. Retrieved November 2021, from, https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15121591/the-physics-of-airbags-feature/
[12] “Mars Pathfinder,” NASA. Retrieved November 2021 from
https://mars.nasa.gov/mars-exploration/missions/pathfinder/
[13] “Unusual material expands dramatically under pressure,” ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 2021, from
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130718161353.htm
[14] PAFOWO, “IMPROVED PAFOWO Commercial Grade hand pump air bags”, (2020), Amazon.Ca. Retrieved November 2021, from
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07XB4BFPP/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=ADVR0ZU6OUNYO&psc=1
[15] “VLP-16 User Manual,” Velodyne Lidar. Retrieved October 2021 from https://velodynelidar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/63-9243-Rev-E-VLP-16-User-Manual.pdf
[16] “Intel NUC 11 User Manual,” Intel NUC. Retrieved October 2021, from
https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/intel-nuc/NUC11TN_TechProdSpec.pdf
[17] “CO2 Inflator with Cartridge Storage Canister – Quick, Easy and Safe – for Presta and Schrader – No CO2 Cartridges Included – Bicycle Tire Pump for Road and Mountain Bikes,”Amazon Canada. Retrieved November 2021, from
https://www.amazon.ca/Inflator-Cartridge-Pro-Bike-Tool/dp/B017KU1DHQ/
[18] Ceccarelli,M., Russo, M.,Morales-Cruz,C., “Parallel Architectures for Humanoid Robots,” Retrieved November, 2021 from https://www.mdpi.com/2218-6581/9/4/75/htm
[19] “Threaded CO2 Cartridge (12g)”. Ontario Beer Kegs. Retrieved November 2021, from
https://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/12-gram-cartridge.html
[20] “LabNEXT Makerspace”. University of Calgary. Retrieved March 2022, from
https://library.ucalgary.ca/makerspace/
[21] “Threaded CO2 Cartidge-12g”. Canuck Homebrew Supply. Retrieved March 2022, from
https://www.canuckhomebrewsupply.com/products/12-gram-cartridge
