CogniWorm: Compliant and Autonomous Grub for Navigation and Inspection fo Warped, Complex and Rough Environments
Abstract
There is a significant need for the capability to navigate confined and access-challenged environments with rough and unpredictable terrains, for industrial and defense machinery maintenance (Figure 2), surveillance and logistics in contested and hostile environments, on-orbit servicing and reusable space launch vehicle applications. GE Research (GE), in collaboration with Binghamton University (BU) and UES, Inc., will demonstrate CogniWorm. It will be an untethered, soft-robotics platform capable of navigation in access-challenged, rough and low-adhesion environments—including battlefield, complex industrial and defense machinery (e.g., jet engines, reusable space launch vehicles), and on-orbit. CogniWorm will perform inspections using a stretchable sensor array on its skin and smart-material-enabled actuation technologies. The team will develop and integrate miniaturized and durable soft sensors and actuators to achieve a low-power untethered system, taking advantage of multiphysics tools for co-optimizing hyperelastic continuum mechanics, electromagnetics, thermal, and fluid domains. Advanced artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, such as reinforcement learning, will be leveraged to maximize the locomotion and sensing performance of the robot in challenging environments. As a near-term commercial application, CogniWorm will provide a low-cost, eco-friendly solution to assist human operators in performing the complex and high-value tasks related to in-situ aircraft engine inspection.
Biography
Deepak Trivedi is a Principal Engineer at GE Aerospace Research working on on-wing inspection and repair, soft robotics, and turbomachinery sealing. In addition to programs supporting maintenance of GE commercial and military engine fleet, Deepak has been the Principal Investigator for several DoD funded projects, working with DARPA, ONR, and SEMI FlexTech, exploring the use of soft robotics for aerospace sustainment and for underground tunneling and exploration. Key contributions include development of film riding seals, confined space access technologies for inspection and repair, and worm-inspired soft robots for confined space navigation. Deepak serves as the industry lead for DoD-funded NextFlex Technical Working Group on Soft and Wearable Robotics, and is a member of the SEMI Flexible and Hybrid Electronics Design Standards Task Force. Deepak has 15+ granted patents and 20+ publications related to confined space robotics and turbomachinery and harsh environment sealing technologies.