FlowIO Primary Function: Platfòm Devlopman Pnematik by Ali Shtarbanov

FlowIO Primary Function: Platfòm Devlopman Pnematik by Ali Shtarbanov is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 A' Design Award Ajan in Enstriman Syantifik Competition Category.

AjanEnstriman Syantifik· 2021

FlowIO Primary Function: Platfòm Devlopman Pnematik

by Ali Shtarbanov

Client: Ali Shtarbanov, MIT Media Lab

A' Design Award Ajan Winner in Enstriman Syantifik Category

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The Design

About FlowIO Primary Function: Platfòm Devlopman Pnematik

FlowIO se yon platfòm devlopman pnematik pou kontwòl, aktivasyon ak deteksyon robo mou ak materyèl pwogramab. Modil prensipal la entegre valv, sansè, yon mikwokontwolè, yon batri ak yon chajè. Modil ponp yo konekte ak mayèt epi yo ka chanje pandan itilizasyon, avèk opsyon piti, mwayen ak gwo pou diferan presyon ak debi. Modil yo fèmen nan bwat ki enprime an 3D ak sistèm klik. Yon zouti lojisyèl ajoute entèfas grafik mobil ak biwo, kontwòl Bluetooth ak entèfas pwogramasyon. FlowIO adapte pou ni pwojè biwo ni pwojè ki ka pote sou kò.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Ajan

FlowIO Primary Function: Platfòm Devlopman Pnematik se yon ganyan A' Design Award Ajan, yon rekonesans ki gen yon prestij enmans yo bay design nivo siperyè, bèl anpil e enpresyonan. Ganyan Ajan yo se travay ki trè briyan e ki trè kreyatif ki montre ekspètiz, talan ak finès designer yo. Yo atann FlowIO Primary Function: Platfòm Devlopman Pnematik pou se yon bèl travay modèl, remakab nan pwofesyonalis e ki gen gwo inovasyon. Design sa a ki ganyen A' Design Award Ajan se yon envansyon trè remakab, admire ki pote benefis e ki pouse limit atizay, syans, design ak teknoloji. FlowIO Primary Function: Platfòm Devlopman Pnematik se yon kreyasyon anpil moun jalou ki reveye dezi, ki pote santiman pozitif e ki limen sipriz ak mèvèy.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: FlowIO is a fully-integrated, general-purpose development platform for control of soft robots and programmable materials. With magnetically connected pump modules that are swappable on-the-fly, FlowIO can satisfy diverse project needs of researchers, artists, and makers. A software toolkit with mobile and desktop graphical interfaces, Bluetooth controls, and APIs for Arduino and JavaScript — enable users from any technical background to get started and unleash their creativity with FlowIO.
Dimensions & Packaging: Five pneumatic I/O ports, each capable of 7 actions, and three swappable pump modules (small, medium, large) can satisfy different needs for pressures (-26 to 30 psi), size, and flow-rates. FlowIO with small pumps has dimensions 59x55x28 mm and mass of only 114g. Expansion modules and accessories enable additional sensing, control, and mounting options for both wearable and nonwearable applications. BLE Capability, multiple APIs, and a GUI enable diverse options for interacting with FlowIO.
Tags: Development Platform, Toolkit, Pneumatic Control System, Soft Robotics, Programmable Materials, Shape Change, Tangible User Interface, Wearables, Arduino, Raspberry Pi
Production Technology: FlowIO contains a main module, different pump modules, expansion modules, and accessories. The main module integrates 7 valves, 2 custom PCBs, sensors, microcontroller, and a battery with charger. Each pump module has 2 pumps, a custom PCB, and a battery with integrated charger. Auxiliary modules also consist of custom PCBs. The modules connect magnetically and are enclosed in 3D-printed snap-fit enclosures, that can be printed in any color. All hardware designs are made public and open-source.
Design Challenge: The main challenge was making FlowIO highly energy-efficient and miniaturized yet fully-integrated with pumps, valves, sensors, electronics, batteries. and even charging circuits. Other pneumatic platforms with far fewer capabilities are 5-10 times larger than FlowIO and they still require external pumps and/or power sources. Over a dozen design iterations were dedicated towards finding clever ways of reducing size. Developing multiple APIs and a cross-platform GUI was another major challenge.
Research: Over a dozen people have used FlowIO to date, from PhD researchers and high-school students to makers and artists. It has enabled people to develop projects in various categories including interactivity, artistic expression, locomotion, telepresence, haptic feedback, and assistive technologies. Feedback was collected from existing and prospective users continuously to inform many of the design iterations. FlowIO was also used as a teaching tool in a graduate digital fabrication course at MIT.
Inspiration: Arduino and Raspberry Pi democratized electronics and computing. FlowIO aims to democratize soft robotics and programmable materials in a similar way. The lack of development platforms for soft robotics makes the field highly inaccessible for most people and stifles innovation. The FlowIO platform was developed with the goal to democratized the emerging field of soft robotics and make rapid prototyping more accessible for researchers, artists, designers, and makers.
Project Duration: FlowIO originated out of necessity as a system I made for my own research in soft robotics and morphable interfaces at MIT Media Lab. As many other researchers, makers, and artists showed strong interest and asked to use FlowIO in their own works, in late 2019 the idea was born to augment FlowIO into a truly general purpose pneumatics development platform suitable for everyone. FlowIO has now undergone over 20 prototype iterations, with numerous new features added during those iterations.
Operation Flow: FlowIO enables users to rapidly bring soft robotics projects to life and to focus on developing actuators and experiences instead of spending time designing pneumatics, electronics, or writing control software. Miniature size, battery operation, and various modules and accessories make FlowIO suitable for both desktop and wearable applications involving inflation, vacuum, release, pressure sense, and flow variability. Multiple APIs and GUI make it possible for anyone to use the device with ease.
Team Members: Ali Shtarbanov
Hyejun Youn
Ozgun Afsar
Advisor: Dr. Joseph Paradiso of MIT Media Lab
Image Credits: Ali Shtarbanov