Methods and apparatus to grasp an object with an unmanned aerial vehicle
AssigneeIntel Corporation
InventorPaul Gwin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods and apparatus to grasp an object with an unmanned aerial vehicle are described herein. An example unmanned aerial vehicle includes a gripper having a claw to grasp onto an object and an active material disposed on the claw. The example unmanned aerial vehicle further includes a material activator to: (1) apply an activation signal to the active material to soften the active material while the claw grasps the object with the active material, and (2) allow the active material to harden in a shape substantially matching a surface of the object.
Claims20
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising:
- a gripper including:
- a first claw and a second claw to grasp onto an object;
- a first active material disposed on the first claw;
- and
- a second active material disposed on the second claw;
- and
- a material activator to:
- (1) apply an activation signal to the first active material to soften the first active material while the first claw grasps the object with the first active material, and (2) allow the first active material to harden in a shape at least partially conforming to a contour of the object.
A method to grasp an object with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the method comprising:
- heating, by executing an instruction with at least one processor, an active material carried by a gripper;
- closing, by executing an instruction with the at least one processor, the gripper onto the object while the active material is above a threshold temperature, the active material having a loop shape when the gripper is closed;
- and
- reducing a temperature of the active material while the gripper is closed on the obj ect.
A non-transitory machine readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause at least one machine to at least:
- apply an activation signal to an active material, the active material disposed on a gripper carried on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV);
- close the gripper onto an object such that the active material is engaged with the object, the active material forming a ring shape when the gripper is closed;
- and
- reduce the activation signal after the gripper is closed onto the object.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.