Systems and methods for robotic arm guard assemblies

A guard assembly configured to be coupled to a robotic arm adjacent to an end effector of the robotic arm, wherein the end effector is selectively coupled to a moveable object, said guard assembly comprising:

• a plurality of guard petals selectively moveable between a retracted configuration and an extended configuration, wherein each of said plurality of guard petals comprises:
• a flexible support structure;
• and
• a fluid bladder coupled to said flexible support structure and wherein said fluid bladder is selectively filled with a fluid to change said fluid bladder between a relaxed configuration and an expanded configuration, wherein said fluid bladder is configured to wrap said flexible support structure around at least a portion of the moveable object when said guard petal is in the extended configuration and said fluid bladder is in the expanded configuration;
• wherein each said guard petal furls away from said end effector when in the retracted configuration to expose said end effector.

A method of guarding a robotic arm assembly and a moveable object secured by the robotic arm assembly during movement of the moveable object using a guard assembly comprising a plurality of guard petals, said method comprising:

• moving each of the plurality of guard petals into a retracted configuration to expose an end effector of the robotic arm assembly, wherein the end effector is coupled to the moveable object at a source location;
• after the moveable object is coupled to the end effector, moving each of the plurality of guard petals to an extended configuration;
• and
• expanding a fluid bladder of each guard petal of the plurality of guard petals to an expanded configuration to cause a flexible support structure of the each guard petal to wrap around at least a portion of the moveable object.