Soft everting robots present significant advantages over traditional rigid robots, including enhanced dexterity, improved environmental interaction, and safe navigation in unpredictable environments. While soft everting robots have been widely demonstrated for exploration type tasks, their potential to move and deploy payloads in such tasks has been less investigated, with previous work focusing on sensors and tools for the robot. Leveraging the navigation capabilities, and deployed body, of the soft everting robot to deliver payloads in hazardous areas, e.g. carrying a water bottle to a person stuck under debris, would represent a significant capability in many applications. In this work, we present an analysis of how soft everting robots can be used to deploy larger, heavier payloads through the inside of the robot. We analyze both what objects can be deployed and what terrain features they can be carried through. Building on existing models, we present methods to quantify the effects of payloads on robot growth and self-support, and develop a model to predict payload slip. We then experimentally quantify payload transport using soft everting robot with a variety of payload shapes, sizes, and weights and though a series of tasks: steering, vertical transport, movement through holes, and movement across gaps. Overall, the results show that we can transport payloads in a variety of shapes and up to 1.5kg in weight and that we can move through circular apertures with as little as 0.01cm clearance around payloads, carry out discrete turns up to 135 degrees, and move across unsupported gaps of 1.15m in length.

翻译：软体翻转机器人相较于传统刚性机器人具有显著优势，包括更高的灵活性、更强的环境交互能力以及在不可预测环境中的安全导航能力。尽管软体翻转机器人已在探索类任务中得到广泛验证，但其在此类任务中移动与部署有效载荷的潜力尚未得到充分研究，先前工作主要集中于机器人的传感器与工具开发。若能利用软体翻转机器人的导航能力及其展开的机体，在危险区域（例如向被困于废墟下的人员运送水瓶）投送有效载荷，将在众多应用场景中展现重要价值。本研究系统分析了如何通过软体翻转机器人内部通道部署更大、更重的有效载荷。我们既分析了可部署物体的特性，也研究了其可穿越的地形特征。基于现有模型，我们提出了量化有效载荷对机器人生长与自支撑能力影响的方法，并建立了预测有效载荷滑移的模型。随后通过实验，使用软体翻转机器人对不同形状、尺寸和重量的有效载荷进行运输测试，完成了一系列任务：转向运动、垂直运输、孔洞穿越以及间隙跨越。总体结果表明，我们能够运输多种形状、重量达1.5公斤的有效载荷，可在与载荷间隙仅0.01厘米的圆形孔径中穿行，实现最大135度的离散转向，并能跨越长度达1.15米的非支撑间隙。