US 12,459,680 B2
Snake-arm robot capable of converting to a drone
Saraswathi Sailaja Perumalla, Visakhapatnam (IN); Sarbajit K. Rakshit, Kolkata (IN); and Venkata Ratnam Alubelli, Visakhapatnam (IN)
Assigned to International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US)
Filed by INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION, Armonk, NY (US)
Filed on Jun. 16, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/807,182.
Prior Publication US 2023/0406496 A1, Dec. 21, 2023
Int. Cl. B25J 9/06 (2006.01); B25J 19/02 (2006.01); B64U 10/13 (2023.01); B64U 30/20 (2023.01); B64U 101/30 (2023.01)
CPC B64U 30/20 (2023.01) [B25J 9/065 (2013.01); B25J 19/023 (2013.01); B64U 10/13 (2023.01); B64U 2101/30 (2023.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A convertible robot comprising:
a plurality of modules connected one to another by one of a plurality of joints, wherein the plurality of modules has a first end and a second end that is adapted to allow for removable attachment to the first end; and
a coupling reversibly converts the plurality of modules at least between two configurations:
a snake-arm configuration in which the plurality of modules are in an elongated arrangement, wherein the snake-arm configuration is configured to allow for movement along terrain and through passages; and
a drone configuration in which the first end and the second end of the plurality of modules are attached and in a loop-shaped arrangement, wherein the drone configuration is configured for flight.