This technology relates to an actuation system and operating method capable of implementing various profiles for two cables using a single actuator.
Previously, each cable required a separate motor, which increased system weight and power consumption, and made it difficult to implement overlapping drive profiles for the two cables.
This technology uses a moving gear and pulley units to distribute and switch the output of a single motor between two cables, simplifying control while reducing both the number of actuators and battery consumption.
This invention was developed with support from the Zero-Power Physical Augmentation Basic Research Laboratory of the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Korea Forest Service's project for developing deep learning-integrated smart wearable suits to assist muscle strength, prevent injuries, and improve work efficiency for forestry workers.
This technology relates to a pulley-integrated cable actuator and its operating method, featuring a drive module optimized for cable-driven systems by combining a ring gear-integrated pulley with a planetary gear set.
In conventional wearable robots, the cable drive unit consists of a motor, a reducer, and a pulley arranged separately, resulting in a bulky, protruding structure. This has been a primary factor in reducing comfort and mobility.
This technology integrates a ring gear into the pulley and incorporates a planetary gear set to reduce the protrusion of the drive unit and optimize the design volume. It enhances the usability and comfort of wearable robots through a more compact and efficient cable drive system.
This invention was developed through the "Development of Deep Learning-Integrated Smart Wearable Suits for Muscle Assistance, Injury Prevention, and Work Efficiency Improvement for Forestry Workers" project by the Korea Forest Service, and the "Machine Learning and Extended Reality Support for High-Speed Mutual Adaptation between Users and Wearable Robots" project by the Ministry of Science and ICT.
This technology calculates independent object relocation plans for individual robots and aggregates them to create a collaborative plan that maximizes the number of task handovers, while also deriving unit task sequences and collision-free motion plans for the shortest possible execution time.
Object relocation using a single manipulator robot is inefficient in space-constrained environments, and there has been a lack of planning technology that allows multiple robots to collaborate effectively to relocate objects.
This technology proposes a step-by-step framework—individual planning → collaborative planning → task sequence determination → motion planning—to maximize task handovers between robots. It can be applied to multi-robot cells in smart factories and automated logistics lines, increasing collaboration efficiency and significantly reducing total task time.
This technology is a multilayer soft pneumatic actuator that manipulates gripped objects by applying horizontal force. It achieves this by independently injecting air into actuating protrusions on the surface layer and two stacked chamber layers, allowing for precise control of localized deformation.
Conventional robotic grippers are limited to simple grasping, making in-hand manipulation difficult. Meanwhile, multi-degree-of-freedom systems suffer from complex structures, high costs, and the need for complex control algorithms and object modeling.
This technology proposes a method of moving surface actuating protrusions by independently controlling the pneumatic pressure in two stacked chambers, thereby delivering tangential force to an object. It offers a new possibility for achieving in-hand manipulation without complex multi-joint structures, making it suitable for logistics picking, precision assembly, and object handling in service robots.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy for the development of meta-soft organ module fabrication technology and module assembly robot systems, and from the Ministry of Science and ICT for the development of task design and control algorithms for intelligent autonomous disinfection robots.
This technology is an articulated robot featuring a variable posture-maintaining function that adapts to changes in payload. It compensates for the gravitational torque acting on each link by transmitting tension generated from a spring balancer in the robot's main body to each rotating link via tension wires, with a tension adjustment unit to manage varying loads.
Conventional manual gravity compensation devices are designed for specific payloads, leading to degraded posture maintenance when the weight of the end-effector changes. Conversely, motor-based active compensation methods suffer from complex structures and high costs.
This technology proposes a system that uses a spring balancer with a coil spring and a tension adjustment unit to vary the compensation strength according to the payload. By arranging wires and reference rotating bodies across multiple links, it provides continuous compensation torque based on the angle of each joint. It can be applied to collaborative robots and industrial manipulators, maintaining posture under various load conditions while significantly reducing energy consumption.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy for the development of a rail-less mobile welding robot to implement high-precision laser welding processes within LNG cargo tanks.
This technology is a magnetic field mapping system and device that generates magnetic field maps for indoor and outdoor spaces by estimating the position of a mobile object based on wheel rotation data and combining it with magnetic field intensity and direction data acquired via magnetic sensors at those positions.
Indoor and underground spaces are inaccessible to satellite navigation system signals, and existing communication network-based positioning methods have faced limitations in accuracy and errors depending on the density of base station installations.
This technology proposes a method of acquiring information, including wheel rotation angles, from a mobile object's encoder and selecting positions at preset intervals to measure magnetic field data, enabling the construction of precise magnetic field maps without the need for additional infrastructure. It can be utilized for positioning services in underground parking lots and large indoor facilities, as well as for logistics robot navigation, providing an economical solution to the problem of location recognition in GPS-denied areas.
This technology is a patient transfer robot that features a gravity compensation function. It uses spring elasticity combined with a cam or gear mechanism to physically reduce the load on the motors and reducers by compensating for the gravity torque acting on the robot's link structure.
Patient transfer robots typically require high-capacity motors and reducers to move heavy patients, which can lead to reduced collision safety, higher energy consumption, and shorter operating times.
This technology proposes a system where gravity torque compensators are installed on the central rotating unit and the first and second rotating arms. A reference plane maintenance unit ensures these components always point in the direction of gravity, allowing the slider and torque compensation spring to generate compensating torque based on varying angles to offset the load on the links. Suitable for nursing homes, hospitals, and home care settings, this system enables safe transfers using lower-capacity motors, thereby reducing both equipment costs and the risk of accidents.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy for the development of human-centered smart dual-arm transfer assist robots.
This technology is a passive dynamic gripper for aerial vehicles that automatically closes its claws to grasp an object by transferring the impact energy generated upon collision through a linkage structure and tendon mechanism.
Existing aerial vehicles, such as drones, have struggled to efficiently utilize the impact energy generated when interacting with objects without static approach, and have faced difficulties in immediately stabilizing their posture after grasping.
This technology proposes a mechanism that converts impact energy into claw-actuating force via tendons, and uses a tendon locking module—an electro-adhesive clutch—to rapidly maintain the claw's state. This allows for rapid object grasping during flight without the need for additional actuators. It can be applied to drone delivery, aerial retrieval operations, and securing supplies in disaster zones. Since grasping is achieved solely through impact without requiring additional drive power, it significantly reduces the payload and power burden on the aerial vehicle.
This invention was developed with support from the Human-Centered Soft Robotics Technology Research Center of the Ministry of Science and ICT.
This technology is a micro-gripper mechanism that connects an optical fiber to a gripper made of shape memory alloy, driving and deforming the gripper through Joule heating generated by light transmitted from a light source.
Conventional micro-grippers suffer from complex driving structures that make manufacturing difficult, as well as structural inconveniences requiring separate power supplies and high power consumption.
This technology proposes a structure that can be operated without separate electrical wiring by delivering heating energy to the gripper via light irradiation through an optical fiber. By using a Nitinol shape memory alloy gripper processed with a focused ion beam and a photocurable polymer adhesive, both miniaturization and precision manipulation are achieved. It offers a wireless-driven gripper for ultra-precision tasks such as semiconductor processing, bio-sample manipulation, and micro-assembly, opening new possibilities for micro-scale automation.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT for the nanoscale 3D printing system.
This technology is a shock-absorbing and vibration-damping neck device designed to stabilize sensor data for legged mobile robots. It features a linkage-based shock absorber and a tunable mass damper mounted on a sensor platform, which adjusts the absorption frequency in real-time by controlling the position of a linear stepping motor based on the robot's gait frequency.
Legged mobile robots often experience periodic shocks and vibrations during locomotion that resonate with the sensor platform, causing motion blur and reducing the accuracy of visual and inertial navigation. Conventional passive vibration-damping devices have struggled to adapt to changes in a robot's walking speed.
This technology utilizes a multi-joint linkage structure with hydraulic dampers and springs to absorb primary shocks. It further incorporates a tunable mass damper that adjusts the distance of the mass body via a torsion spring and linear stepping motor control. By actively varying the vibration-damping frequency to match the robot's gait, it ensures clear sensor data. This technology fundamentally enhances the perception performance of quadrupedal and patrol/inspection robots, serving as a critical component for reliable autonomous navigation in legged robots.
This technology features a robot joint structure based on tensegrity principles. Multiple bodies (first through third) are connected by a series of string members without direct contact, enabling 3-DOF (pitch, yaw, roll) rotation and flexibility against external forces.
Conventional rigid-body robot joints are prone to damage from external impacts, struggle to achieve flexibility along the axis of rotation through control methods alone, and suffer from friction and wear due to contact between rigid parts, as well as increased weight that makes long-term wear uncomfortable.
This technology implements a tensegrity structure by arranging three bodies in a non-contact configuration and utilizing string members in square pyramid, rhombus, and octahedron patterns. The first through third bodies are made of elastic materials, and bearings are installed at the rotation axis anchor points to prevent friction and wear. By separating the drive unit externally, the weight of the joint is significantly reduced. This design is ideal for robotic shoulders, collaborative robots, and wearable robots, providing flexible response to external impacts while minimizing joint weight.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT for the Tensegrity Robot System using Pneumatic and Tendon Hybrid Actuation.
This technology performs a pinch-grip motion with the fingertips by transmitting rotational torque from the drive unit through a four-bar linkage and connecting links. By adjusting the link length ratios of the four-bar mechanism, it controls the force vector direction applied to the fingertips, allowing the robot gripper to adapt to external environmental constraints, such as a table surface.
Conventional grippers often fail to account for collisions between the fingertips and environmental obstacles, such as tables, during pinch-gripping, which limits their ability to stably grasp small objects.
This technology configures the length ratios of the four-bar linkage (input, output, intermediate, and frame links) so that the force vector applied to the fingertips acts in a direction that lifts or lowers the object. Additionally, it incorporates a parallelogram linkage to maintain the fingertip angle and utilizes an elastic member and stopper between the output link and the frame link to ensure adaptive grasping. Suitable for logistics picking, precision assembly, and service robots, it enables stable grasping of small objects without colliding with surrounding constraints like tables.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT for the development of biomimetic bionic arm mechanisms.
This technology features a robotic arm that concentrates both the upper and lower arm actuators at the shoulder base. It utilizes a 4-bar linkage assembly, consisting of a transmission link and two link units, to transfer the rotational force of the lower arm actuator to the elbow axis, allowing for independent or synchronized control of the upper and lower arm.
Conventional technology typically places actuators directly on the elbow joint, which leads to reduced control responsiveness as the end-effector load increases and complicates wiring design.
By centralizing the actuators at the base and transmitting physical power through a linkage assembly, this technology reduces the end-effector load and improves control responsiveness. It can be applied to wearable upper-limb assistive robots, rehabilitation training equipment, and collaborative robotic arms, enabling precise joint control while minimizing the burden on the user through a lightweight end-effector structure.
This technology is a monitoring method that determines in real-time whether a human-robot collaboration state is safe within a specific frequency band by passing multi-degree-of-freedom force signals through low-pass and high-pass filters and comparing the Euclidean norm values of each output signal.
Existing DFT-based frequency analysis techniques require large amounts of sampling data to achieve low frequency resolution, making it impossible to recognize collaboration states quickly within 0.5 seconds, which can lead to safety issues such as skin plastic deformation during collisions.
Instead of DFT, this technology separates frequency components using a 2nd-order IIR Butterworth filter and calculates the collaboration state value through median calculation using the ratio between filter outputs, derivative filter smoothing, and saturation processing. It can be applied to the safety control of collaborative robots and wearable robots, dramatically increasing operator safety through immediate risk detection within 0.5 seconds.
This technology relates to a variable driving assembly for military robots, specifically a driving device capable of mechanically switching between standard road driving mode and rough terrain driving mode.
Military robots previously required a choice between wheel and tracked systems depending on the mission environment; however, relying on a single method imposed significant operational limitations, as it could not simultaneously satisfy the requirements for high-speed driving on paved roads and traversing rough terrain.
This technology implements two driving modes on a single platform by modifying the wheel configuration through variable links and a variable driving force supply unit. This significantly enhances adaptability to diverse driving conditions.
