I-Corps: A modular toolkit for rapid prototyping of capsule robots

从机器人套件到市场上出售的模块化电子学习工具，没有一家公司提供微型设备构建模块。这个I-Corps团队提出了一个模块化工具包，旨在为用户提供一个工具，以缩短胶囊机器人的设计和开发时间。它类似于目前市场上可用的构造机器人套件和模块化电子学习工具，但实现了厘米级的每个模块/设备构建块。该工具包预计将在科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）教育领域具有巨大的商业化潜力，可以为高中、本科生和研究生提供引人入胜的边做边学的体验。这个I-Corps团队开发了STORM实验室胶囊模块化架构（SMAC）。作为胶囊机器人的模块化套件，SMAC提供的不仅仅是快速原型。它附带了一个软件环境，作为每个人学习、理解和将其固有的开源知识改编为创造性小型机器人的媒介。用SMAC创建一个微型设备就像组合硬件模块一样简单，而软件可以跟踪后台的任何变化并保持同步。此功能是SMAC模块化套件的关键元素。它大大减少了硬件重新配置和软件返工所需的时间。SMAC的商业影响可以与美国国家仪器公司的数据采集硬件相媲美，它已经成为信号和数据采集的事实上的标准，超越了传统的模拟硬件原型。

From robotic kits to modular electronic learning tools for sale on the market, none of them offers miniature device building blocks. This I-Corps team proposes a modular kit aiming to provide the users with a tool to shorten capsule robot design and development time. It is similar to constructional robotic kits and modular electronic learning tools currently available on the market, but implements each module/device building block at the centimeter scale. The proposed toolkit is expected to have a significant potential for commercialization in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, where it can provide an engaging learning-by-doing experience to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students.This I-Corps team has developed the STORM Lab Modular Architecture for Capsules (SMAC). As a modular kit for capsule robots, SMAC offers more than just rapid prototyping. It comes with a software environment as a medium for everyone to study, understand, and adapt its inherent open source knowledge into creative small-scale robots. Creating a miniature device with SMAC is as easy as combining snap-on hardware modules, while the software keeps track of any changes in the background and stays in sync. This feature is the key element of SMAC's modular kit. It drastically reduces the time required for hardware reconfiguration and software rework. The commercial impact of SMAC may be comparable to the National Instruments Data Acquisition hardware that has become the de facto standard of signal and data acquisition, beyond the traditional analog hardware prototyping.