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1
Yu, Zhang, Huang Peiyu, You Bo, Yu Zhibin, Li Dongjie, and Dong Guoqi. "Design and Motion Simulation of a Soft Robot for Crawling in Pipes." Applied Bionics and Biomechanics 2023 (February 5, 2023): 1–8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/5334604.
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In recent years, soft pipeline robot, as a new concept, is proposed to adapt to tunnel. The soft pipeline robots are made of soft materials such as rubber or silicone. These materials have good elasticity, which enhance the adaptability of the soft pipeline robot. Therefore, the soft pipeline robot has better performance on deformability than rigid robot. However, the structure of tunnel is complex and varied that brought challenges on design structure of soft pipeline robot. In this paper, we propose soft pipeline robot with simple structure and easy fabrication, which can be realized straight, turning motion in a variety of tunnels with different diameters. The soft pipeline robot composed of two types of structure, which are expansion part and deformation part. Front and rear deformation part for bending and position fixation, and middle expansion part for elongation, so the pipeline soft robot can be moved in various structures of tunnels. Moreover, the locomotion ability and adaptability in tunnel are verified by simulating on software. The structure of chamber proposed in this paper can guide the design method of soft pipeline robot.
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Xu, Ruomeng, and Qingsong Xu. "Design of a Bio-Inspired Untethered Soft Octopodal Robot Driven by Magnetic Field." Biomimetics 8, no. 3 (June 22, 2023): 269. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8030269.
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Inspired by insects in nature, an increasing number of soft robots have been proposed to mimic their locomotion patterns. As a wireless actuation method, the magnetic actuation technique has been widely applied to drive soft magnetic robots for diverse applications. Although recent works on soft materials have stimulated the development of soft robots, it is challenging to achieve the efficient movement of soft robots for in vivo biomedical application. Inspired by centipede locomotion, a soft octopodal robot is designed in this paper. The robot is fabricated by mixing magnetic particles with silicone polymers, which is then magnetized by a specific magnetic field. The prototypes can be actuated by an external magnetic field (5–8 mT) produced by custom-made electromagnetic coils. Experimental results show that the soft robot can move at a high speed in the range of 0.536–1.604 mm/s on different surfaces, including paper, wood, and PMMA. This indicates that the soft robot can achieve comparable speeds to other robots, while being driven by a lower magnitude, resulting in energy savings. Furthermore, it achieves a high speed of 0.823 mm/s on the surface of a pig colon. The fine capabilities of the soft robot in terms of crossing uneven biological surfaces and carrying external loads are demonstrated. The results indicate that the reported soft robot exhibits promising applications in the biomedical field.
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Ambaye, Getachew, Enkhsaikhan Boldsaikhan, and Krishna Krishnan. "Soft Robot Design, Manufacturing, and Operation Challenges: A Review." Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing 8, no. 2 (April 16, 2024): 79. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jmmp8020079.
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Advancements in smart manufacturing have embraced the adoption of soft robots for improved productivity, flexibility, and automation as well as safety in smart factories. Hence, soft robotics is seeing a significant surge in popularity by garnering considerable attention from researchers and practitioners. Bionic soft robots, which are composed of compliant materials like silicones, offer compelling solutions to manipulating delicate objects, operating in unstructured environments, and facilitating safe human–robot interactions. However, despite their numerous advantages, there are some fundamental challenges to overcome, which particularly concern motion precision and stiffness compliance in performing physical tasks that involve external forces. In this regard, enhancing the operation performance of soft robots necessitates intricate, complex structural designs, compliant multifunctional materials, and proper manufacturing methods. The objective of this literature review is to chronicle a comprehensive overview of soft robot design, manufacturing, and operation challenges in conjunction with recent advancements and future research directions for addressing these technical challenges.
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Hu, Yuhan. "Research on Motion Patterns of Soft Robots Based on Bionic Structure." Highlights in Science, Engineering and Technology 114 (October 31, 2024): 43–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.54097/bkqftn52.
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Bionic soft robot is a new type of robot whose main body is composed of flexible material, with the advantages of adjustable size and strong environmental adaptability, which has a broad application prospect in logistics, medical care, resource exploration and other fields. Novel smart materials also shine in the design of soft robots. This paper highlights the research advancements in the locomotion patterns of bionic soft robots. The mechanism of movement of animals such as inchworms, starfish, earthworms, etc. and the soft robots designed to imitate them are introduced. Novel smart materials required to realise these designs, such as Shape Memory Alloy (SMA), dielectric elastomer (DE), a collapsible actuator (PFA), pNIPAM/CNTs hydrogel composite, are also presented. Methods to drive and control the motion of these soft robots are presented, including thermally driven shape memory alloys, pneumatic airbags, and laser-driven, magnetic field-driven, and electrically driven dielectric materials, among other types. After discussing the materials and methods, the current challenges to the innovation of motion patterns for bionic soft robots are analyzed.
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A. Al-Ibadi, Shahad, Loai A. T. Al-Abeach, and Mohammed A. Al-Ibadi. "Design and Implementation of the Soft Robot's End-Effecter." Iraqi Journal for Electrical and Electronic Engineering 21, no. 1 (November 1, 2024): 44–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.37917/ijeee.21.1.5.
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Soft robotics is a modern technique that allows robots to have more capabilities than conventional rigid robots. Pneumatic Muscle Actuators (PMAs), also known as McKibben actuators, are an example of soft actuators. This research covered the design and production of a pneumatic robot end effector. Smooth, elastic, flexible, and soft qualities materials have contributed to the creation of Soft Robot End-Effector (SREE). To give SREE compliance, it needs to handle delicate objects while allowing it to adapt to its surroundings safely. The research focuses on the variable stiffness SREE's inspiration design, construction, and manufacturing. As a result, a new four-fingered variable stiffness soft robot end effector was created. SREE has been designed using two types of PMAs: Contractor PMAs (CPMAs) and Extensor PMAs (EPMAs). Through tendons and Contractor PMAs, fingers can close and open. SREE was tested and put into practice to handle various object types. The innovative movement of the suggested SREE allows it to grip with only two fingers and open and close its grasp with all of its fingers.
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Jyothi, Mrs N. Krishna. "Plucking Flowers using Soft Robot." International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology 11, no. 11 (November 30, 2023): 575–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.22214/ijraset.2023.56490.
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Abstract: Soft robotics is a subfield of robotics that concerns the design, control, and fabrication of robots composed of complaint materials, instead of rigid links. In contrast to the rigid-bodied robots built from metals, ceramics, and hard plastics, the compliance of soft robots can improve their safety when working in close contact with humans. The main objective of this project is to pluck flowers using a soft robot. The proposed system is designed to provide gentle manipulation of flowers in a horticultural setting. The soft robot is composed of flexible and deformable materials, such as silicone or elastomer, and is designed to mimic the motion and compliance of human fingers. The system is implemented and tested in a real-world scenario, and the results show that it can effectively pluck flowers without causing damage or injury to the plant. The proposed approach has potential applications in the floriculture industry, where the system can improve efficiency and reduce labour costs, while also minimizing damage to the flowers
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Venter, Martin Philip, and Izak Johannes Joubert. "Generative Design of Soft Robot Actuators Using ESP." Mathematical and Computational Applications 28, no. 2 (April 3, 2023): 53. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/mca28020053.
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Soft robotics is an emerging field that leverages the compliant nature of materials to control shape and behaviour. However, designing soft robots presents a challenge, as they do not have discrete points of articulation and instead articulate through deformation in whole regions of the robot. This results in a vast, unexplored design space with few established design methods. This paper presents a practical generative design process that combines the Encapsulation, Syllabus, and Pandamonium method with a reduced-order model to produce results comparable to the existing state-of-the-art in reduced design time while including the human designer meaningfully in the design process and facilitating the inclusion of other numerical techniques such as Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. Using a combination of reduced-order models, L-systems, MCMC, curve matching, and optimisation, we demonstrate that our method can produce functional 2D articulating soft robot designs in less than 1 s, a significant reduction in design time compared to monolithic methods, which can take several days. Additionally, we qualitatively show how to extend our approach to produce more complex 3D robots, such as an articulating tentacle with multiple grippers.
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Morales, Jorge Eduardo, Francisco Ramírez Cruz, and Francisco Eugenio López Guerrero. "An agile multi-body additively manufactured soft actuator for soft manipulators." Ingenierias 23, no. 89 (October 1, 2020): 14–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.29105/ingenierias23.89-4.
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With the introduction of collaborative robots in production environments, the harm to workers by using traditional robots with rigid links is inherent. A new generation of robots made from flexible soft materials that decreases collision danger by self-deforming actions has been proposed as a promising solution for the human-robot collaboration environments. Recently, by the development of additive manufacture of elastic soft materials, new design opportunities arise for these so-called soft robots. However, robustness that is required for production environments is still not achieved. This paper presents a design approach of a fully additively manufactured three-axis soft pneumatic actuator. For its use in flexible soft robotic manipulator systems, design guidelines, a direct 3D printing process with elastic materials and a low-level PLC semi-automated pressure regulation control system are presented. To validate the proposed design, the actuator is manufactured and tested for maximum contact force, bending motion reaction and its signal response.
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Tse, Zion Tsz Ho, Yue Chen, Sierra Hovet, Hongliang Ren, Kevin Cleary, Sheng Xu, Bradford Wood, and Reza Monfaredi. "Soft Robotics in Medical Applications." Journal of Medical Robotics Research 03, no. 03n04 (September 2018): 1841006. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/s2424905x18410064.
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Soft robotics are robotic systems made of materials that are similar in softness to human soft tissues. Recent medical soft robot designs, including rehabilitation, surgical, and diagnostic soft robots, are categorized by application and reviewed for functionality. Each design is analyzed for engineering characteristics and clinical significance. Current technical challenges in soft robotics fabrication, sensor integration, and control are discussed. Future directions including portable and robust actuation power sources, clinical adoptability, and clinical regulatory issues are summarized.
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Roshanfar, Majid, Javad Dargahi, and Amir Hooshiar. "Design Optimization of a Hybrid-Driven Soft Surgical Robot with Biomimetic Constraints." Biomimetics 9, no. 1 (January 21, 2024): 59. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics9010059.
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The current study investigated the geometry optimization of a hybrid-driven (based on the combination of air pressure and tendon tension) soft robot for use in robot-assisted intra-bronchial intervention. Soft robots, made from compliant materials, have gained popularity for use in surgical interventions due to their dexterity and safety. The current study aimed to design a catheter-like soft robot with an improved performance by minimizing radial expansion during inflation and increasing the force exerted on targeted tissues through geometry optimization. To do so, a finite element analysis (FEA) was employed to optimize the soft robot’s geometry, considering a multi-objective goal function that incorporated factors such as chamber pressures, tendon tensions, and the cross-sectional area. To accomplish this, a cylindrical soft robot with three air chambers, three tendons, and a central working channel was considered. Then, the dimensions of the soft robot, including the length of the air chambers, the diameter of the air chambers, and the offsets of the air chambers and tendon routes, were optimized to minimize the goal function in an in-plane bending scenario. To accurately simulate the behavior of the soft robot, Ecoflex 00-50 samples were tested based on ISO 7743, and a hyperplastic model was fitted on the compression test data. The FEA simulations were performed using the response surface optimization (RSO) module in ANSYS software, which iteratively explored the design space based on defined objectives and constraints. Using RSO, 45 points of experiments were generated based on the geometrical and loading constraints. During the simulations, tendon force was applied to the tip of the soft robot, while simultaneously, air pressure was applied inside the chamber. Following the optimization of the geometry, a prototype of the soft robot with the optimized values was fabricated and tested in a phantom model, mimicking simulated surgical conditions. The decreased actuation effort and radial expansion of the soft robot resulting from the optimization process have the potential to increase the performance of the manipulator. This advancement led to improved control over the soft robot while additionally minimizing unnecessary cross-sectional expansion. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of the optimization methodology for refining the soft robot’s design and highlights its potential for enhancing surgical interventions.
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Jeong, Nathan, Wooseop Lee, Seongcheol Jeong, Arun Niddish Mahendran, and Vishesh Vikas. "Background Material Identification Using a Soft Robot." Electronics 13, no. 1 (December 23, 2023): 78. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/electronics13010078.
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Soft robotics is an emerging technology that provides robots with the ability to adapt to the environment and safely interact with it. Here, the ability of these robots to identify the surface of interaction is critical for grasping and locomotion tasks. This paper describes the capability of a four-limb soft robot that can identify background materials through the collection of reflection coefficients using an embedded antenna and machine learning techniques. The material of a soft-limb robot was characterized in terms of the relative permittivity and the loss tangent for the design of an antenna to collect reflection coefficients. A slot antenna was designed and embedded into a soft limb in order to extract five features in reflection coefficients including the resonant frequency, −3 dB bandwidth taken from the lowest S11, the value of the lowest S11, −3 dB bandwidth taken from the highest S11, and the number of resonant frequencies. A soft robot with the embedded antenna was tested on nine different background materials in an attempt to identify surrounding terrain information and a better robotic operation. The tested background materials included concrete, fabric, grass, gravel, metal, mulch, soil, water, and wood. The results showed that the robot was capable of distinguishing among the nine different materials with an average accuracy of 93.3% for the nine background materials using a bagged decision-tree-based ensemble method algorithm.
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Li, Junfeng, Songyu Chen, and Minjie Sun. "Design and fabrication of a crawling robot based on a soft actuator." Smart Materials and Structures 30, no. 12 (November 9, 2021): 125018. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1361-665x/ac2e1b.
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Abstract Inspired by biological systems, soft crawling robots provide unique advantages in terms of resilience and adaptive shaping during robotic motion. However, soft robots actuated by motors and pumps are usually heavy, noisy and bulky. In this paper, based on the principle of liquid-vapor changes of ethanol, a novel soft crawling robot that demonstrates more silent actuation and lighter weight compared with other robots is proposed. To increase the crawling speed of the robot, silicone mixed with liquid metal with a volume ratio of 20% is used to fabricate the actuators. The deformation of the actuator is analyzed and can be predicted using a theoretical model. To obtain effective crawling performance, a crawling locomotion sequence consisting of the three different parts (central, head and tail) based on the variable friction mechanism of actuators B and C is presented. The experimental results demonstrate that the robot can achieve forward movement on a horizontal surface and along vertical pipes and sticks. This study will provide further inspiration and guidance for the future development of crawling robots.
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Sun, Yu-Chen, Meysam Effati, Hani E. Naguib, and Goldie Nejat. "SoftSAR: The New Softer Side of Socially Assistive Robots—Soft Robotics with Social Human–Robot Interaction Skills." Sensors 23, no. 1 (December 30, 2022): 432. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s23010432.
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When we think of “soft” in terms of socially assistive robots (SARs), it is mainly in reference to the soft outer shells of these robots, ranging from robotic teddy bears to furry robot pets. However, soft robotics is a promising field that has not yet been leveraged by SAR design. Soft robotics is the incorporation of smart materials to achieve biomimetic motions, active deformations, and responsive sensing. By utilizing these distinctive characteristics, a new type of SAR can be developed that has the potential to be safer to interact with, more flexible, and uniquely uses novel interaction modes (colors/shapes) to engage in a heighted human–robot interaction. In this perspective article, we coin this new collaborative research area as SoftSAR. We provide extensive discussions on just how soft robotics can be utilized to positively impact SARs, from their actuation mechanisms to the sensory designs, and how valuable they will be in informing future SAR design and applications. With extensive discussions on the fundamental mechanisms of soft robotic technologies, we outline a number of key SAR research areas that can benefit from using unique soft robotic mechanisms, which will result in the creation of the new field of SoftSAR.
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Lin, Yu-Chih, Yu-Chen Chung, Chien-Tzu Lin, and Bo-Sheng Wang. "Motion analysis of an undulatory fin underwater robot." Journal of Mechanics 40 (2024): 445–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jom/ufae037.
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ABSTRACT The underwater robot has gained increasing attention due to the crucial role of oceanographic surveys in monitoring and exploring resources. A bionic underwater robot offers several advantages, including enhanced environmental interaction, reduced noise, improved propulsion, a smaller turning radius, higher efficiency and greater stability. This study designs and investigates a bionic underwater robot featuring undulatory soft fins. Finite element analysis is used to compute the drag and velocity of the robot with various shape designs. Experiments are conducted to measure the velocity under varying design parameters, including kinematic parameters, hull geometric shapes and fin materials. The experimental results reveal that the Type I robot exhibits vertical oscillations that reduce its forward speed. This phenomenon may result from asymmetry between the top and bottom of the stern, generating a pitch moment that leads to lift and causes oscillation. It is also indicated from the experiments that velocity generally increases with amplitude and frequency. The robot achieves optimal velocity performance with a phase difference of 67.5° (0.375π) and an amplitude of 60° for both polyvinyl chloride and natural rubber fins. The robot with Type B at both ends performs better than the one with Type A at both ends, consistent with the finite element analysis results, though the difference is not significant in the current design. The shape design for the hull is crucial and warrants further investigation. This study provides recommendations for optimizing the shape, materials and motion parameters of bionic soft undulating fin underwater robots.
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Tomori, Hiroki, Kenta Hiyoshi, Shonosuke Kimura, Naoya Ishiguri, and Taisei Iwata. "A Self-Deformation Robot Design Incorporating Bending-Type Pneumatic Artificial Muscles." Technologies 7, no. 3 (July 23, 2019): 51. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/technologies7030051.
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With robots becoming closer to humans in recent years, human-friendly robots made of soft materials provide a new line of research interests. We designed and developed a soft robot that can move via self-deformation toward the practical application of monitoring children and the elderly on a daily basis. The robot’s structure was built out of flexible frames, which are bending-type pneumatic artificial muscles (BPAMs). We first provide a description and discussion on the nature of BPAM, followed by static characteristics experiment. Although the BPAM theoretical model shares a similar tendency with the experimental results, the actual BPAMs moved along the depth direction. We then proposed and demonstrated an effective locomotion method for the robot and calculated its locomotion speed by measuring its drive time and movement distance. Our results confirmed the reasonability of the robot’s speed for monitoring children and the elderly. Nevertheless, during the demonstration, some BPAMs were bent sharply by other activated BPAMs as the robot was driving, leaving a little damage on these BPAMs. This will be addressed in our future work.
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Wu, Yichuan, Justin K. Yim, Jiaming Liang, Zhichun Shao, Mingjing Qi, Junwen Zhong, Zihao Luo, et al. "Insect-scale fast moving and ultrarobust soft robot." Science Robotics 4, no. 32 (July 31, 2019): eaax1594. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.aax1594.
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Mobility and robustness are two important features for practical applications of robots. Soft robots made of polymeric materials have the potential to achieve both attributes simultaneously. Inspired by nature, this research presents soft robots based on a curved unimorph piezoelectric structure whose relative speed of 20 body lengths per second is the fastest measured among published artificial insect-scale robots. The soft robot uses several principles of animal locomotion, can carry loads, climb slopes, and has the sturdiness of cockroaches. After withstanding the weight of an adult footstep, which is about 1 million times heavier than that of the robot, the system survived and continued to move afterward. The relatively fast locomotion and robustness are attributed to the curved unimorph piezoelectric structure with large amplitude vibration, which advances beyond other methods. The design principle, driving mechanism, and operating characteristics can be further optimized and extended for improved performances, as well as used for other flexible devices.
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Aali, Taha Rehman, Hammad Adnan, and Dr Afaque Manzoor Soomro. "DEVELOPMENT OF MANTA RAY INSPIRED FISH ROBOT WITH EMBODIED SENSING FOR EFFICIENT UNDERWATER ENVIRONMENT MONITORING." American Journal of Engineering and Technology 06, no. 12 (December 4, 2024): 24–43. https://doi.org/10.37547/tajet/volume06issue12-04.
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This study aims to design and develop a bio-inspired soft robotic fish for underwater environment monitoring. The ocean is vast, covering more than 70% of earth’s surface and largely unexplored frontier having diverse ecosystems and vital resources. Monitoring underwater environment is important for understanding marine life and studying impacts of climate change. While traditional robots such as AUVs are precise and durable but due to their bulky structure struggle in complex conditions in ocean. Due to disadvantages such as less adaptable and potentially harmful to marine ecosystem of hard robots, the increasing demand for effective underwater environment monitoring has sparked interest in bio-inspired soft robotics. Soft robots are ideal for underwater monitoring due to their flexible and adaptable structure. They can navigate complex environments more easily, reducing the risk of damaging marine life and robot itself. This study presents the design and implementation of soft robotic fish inspired by manta rays known for their unique swimming pattern, efficient and agile locomotion. Our robot mimics real manta rays’ movements patterns by utilizing pectoral fins made from soft materials which generate thrusts using pneumatic actuation. The robot fins were designed by studying manta ray fin propulsion and simulating in ANSYS software where we observed same pattern of movement of real manta ray fish. The fins were fabricated using ecoflex0030 which is flexible soft material. The prototype was tested to observe the movement of fins and evaluate its performance which was close to real fish movements. This study helps in advancement of bio-inspired underwater robotics field by improving efficiency and capability of underwater monitoring systems. Future work will focus on refining the design, improving performance of robot, developing communication system and embodied sensing for data collection such as pressure, temperature of underwater environments.
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Hawkes, Elliot W., and Mark R. Cutkosky. "Design of Materials and Mechanisms for Responsive Robots." Annual Review of Control, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems 1, no. 1 (May 28, 2018): 359–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-control-060117-104903.
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As robots move beyond manufacturing applications to less predictable environments, they can increasingly benefit, as animals do, from integrating sensing and control with the passive properties provided by particular combinations and arrangements of materials and mechanisms. This realization is partly responsible for the recent proliferation of soft and bioinspired robots. Tuned materials and mechanisms can provide several kinds of benefits, including energy storage and recovery, increased physical robustness, and decreased response time to sudden events. In addition, they may offer passive open-loop behaviors and responses to external changes in loading or environmental conditions. Collectively, these properties can also increase the stability of a robot as it interacts with the environment and allow the closed-loop controller to reduce the apparent degrees of freedom subject to control. The design of appropriate materials and mechanisms remains a challenging problem; bioinspiration, genetic algorithms, and numerical shape and materials optimization are all applicable. New multimaterial fabrication processes are also steadily increasing the range and magnitude of passive properties available for intrinsically responsive robots.
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Fu, Lei, Weiqiang Zhao, Jiayao Ma, Mingyuan Yang, Xinmeng Liu, Lei Zhang, and Yan Chen. "A Humidity-Powered Soft Robot with Fast Rolling Locomotion." Research 2022 (May 14, 2022): 1–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.34133/2022/9832901.
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A range of soft robotic systems have recently been developed that use soft, flexible materials and respond to environmental stimulus. The greatest challenge in their design is the integration of the actuator, energy sources, and body of robots while achieving fast locomotion and well-defined programmable trajectories. This work presents such a design that operates under constant conditions without the need for an externally modulated stimulus. By using a humidity-sensitive agarose film and overcoming the isotropic and random bending of the film, the robot, which we call the Hydrollbot, harnesses energy from evaporation for spontaneous and continuous fast self-rolling locomotion with a programmable trajectory in a constant-humidity environment. Moreover, the geometric parameters of the film were fine-tuned to maximize the rolling speed, and the optimised hydrollbot is capable of carrying a payload up to 100% of its own weight. The ability to self-propel fast under constant conditions with programmable trajectories will confer practical advantages to this robot in the applications for sensors, medical robots, actuation, etc.
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Stano, Gianni, Luca Arleo, and Gianluca Percoco. "Additive Manufacturing for Soft Robotics: Design and Fabrication of Airtight, Monolithic Bending PneuNets with Embedded Air Connectors." Micromachines 11, no. 5 (May 9, 2020): 485. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/mi11050485.
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Air tightness is a challenging task for 3D-printed components, especially for fused filament fabrication (FFF), due to inherent issues, related to the layer-by-layer fabrication method. On the other hand, the capability of 3D print airtight cavities with complex shapes is very attractive for several emerging research fields, such as soft robotics. The present paper proposes a repeatable methodology to 3D print airtight soft actuators with embedded air connectors. The FFF process has been optimized to manufacture monolithic bending PneuNets (MBPs), an emerging class of soft robots. FFF has several advantages in soft robot fabrication: (i) it is a fully automated process which does not require manual tasks as for molding, (ii) it is one of the most ubiquitous and inexpensive (FFF 3D printers costs < $200) 3D-printing technologies, and (iii) more materials can be used in the same printing cycle which allows embedding of several elements in the soft robot body. Using commercial soft filaments and a dual-extruder 3D printer, at first, a novel air connector which can be easily embedded in each soft robot, made via FFF technology with a single printing cycle, has been fabricated and tested. This new embedded air connector (EAC) prevents air leaks at the interface between pneumatic pipe and soft robot and replaces the commercial air connections, often origin of leakages in soft robots. A subsequent experimental study using four different shapes of MBPs, each equipped with EAC, showed the way in which different design configurations can affect bending performance. By focusing on the best performing shape, among the tested ones, the authors studied the relationship between bending performance and air tightness, proving how the Design for Additive Manufacturing approach is essential for advanced applications involving FFF. In particular, the relationship between chamber wall thickness and printing parameters has been analyzed, the thickness of the walls has been studied from 1.6 to 1 mm while maintaining air tightness and improving the bending angle by 76.7% under a pressure of 4 bar. It emerged that the main printing parameter affecting chamber wall air tightness is the line width that, in conjunction with the wall thickness, can ensure air tightness of the soft actuator body.
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Saigo, Hayato, Makoto Naruse, Kazuya Okamura, Hirokazu Hori, and Izumi Ojima. "Analysis of Soft Robotics Based on the Concept of Category of Mobility." Complexity 2019 (March 25, 2019): 1–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/1490541.
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Soft robotics is an emerging field of research where the robot body is composed of flexible and soft materials. It allows the body to bend, twist, and deform to move or to adapt its shape to the environment for grasping, all of which are difficult for traditional hard robots with rigid bodies. However, the theoretical basis and design principles for soft robotics are not well-founded despite their recognized importance. For example, the control of soft robots is outsourced to morphological attributes and natural processes; thus, the coupled relations between a robot and its environment are particularly crucial. In this paper, we propose a mathematical foundation for soft robotics based on category theory, a branch of abstract mathematics where any notions can be described by objects and arrows. It allows for a rigorous description of the inherent characteristics of soft robots and their relation to the environment as well as the differences compared to conventional hard robots. We present a notion called the category of mobility to well describe the subject matter. The theory has been applied to a model system and analysis to highlight the adaptation behavior observed in universal grippers, which are a typical example of soft robotics. The aim of the present study is not to offer concrete engineering solutions to existing robotics but to provide clear mathematical description of soft robots by category theory and to imply its potential abilities by a simple soft gripper demonstration. This paper paves the way to developing a theoretical background and design principles for soft robotics.
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Brivio, Andrea, Ksenia Rogacheva, Matteo Lucchelli, and Andrea Bonarini. "A soft, mobile, autonomous robot to develop skills through play in autistic children." Paladyn, Journal of Behavioral Robotics 12, no. 1 (January 1, 2021): 187–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/pjbr-2021-0015.
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Abstract Robots have been used for many years in therapeutic activities with people with Autism Spectrum Disorder. However, most robots presented in the literature have limited or no mobility, are made of rigid materials, or are too expensive for many care centers. We share the choices and the design rationale of the latest version of a soft, mobile, low-cost, autonomous robot that has successfully been used for 3 years in a care center for activities that include both free play and structured games. Moreover, the kind of activities that can be performed with this robot, and the feedback obtained from therapists about its application are reported.
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Trimmer, Barry A. "New Challenges in Biorobotics: Incorporating Soft Tissue into Control Systems." Applied Bionics and Biomechanics 5, no. 3 (2008): 119–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2008/505213.
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The development of truly biomimetic robots requires that soft materials be incorporated into the mechanical design and also used as an integral part of the motor control system. One approach to this challenge is to identify how soft animals control their movements and then apply the found principles in robotic applications. Here I show an example of how a combination of animal kinematics, neural patterning and constitutive modelling of tissues can be used to explore motor control in the caterpillar,Manduca sexta. Although still in the early stages, these findings are being used to design and fabricate a new type of robot that does not have a rigid skeleton and is structured entirely from soft or compliant materials. It is hoped that this new robotic platform will promote the development of actuators, sensors and electronics that are compatible with soft materials.
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Qi, Zhifeng, and Xiuting Sun. "The Modular Gait Design of a Soft, Earthworm-like Locomotion Robot Driven by Ultra-Low Frequency Excitation." Applied Sciences 13, no. 4 (February 20, 2023): 2723. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/app13042723.
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In complex and extreme environments, such as pipelines and polluted waters, gait programming has great significance for multibody segment locomotion robots. The earthworm-like locomotion robot is a representative multibody bionic robot, which has the characteristics of low weight, multibody segments, and excellent movement performance under the designed gait. The body segment cell can realize large deformation under ultra-low frequency excitation. The multibody segment robot can locomote under ultra-low frequency excitation with appropriate shifts. In this paper, a modular gait design principle for a soft, earthworm-like locomotion robot is proposed. The driven modules defined by modular gait generation correspond to the peristaltic wave transmissions of the excitation in the robot for different modular gait modes. A locomotion algorithm is presented to simulate the locomotion of the earthworm-like robot under different locomotion gaits. Moreover, the locomotion speeds are obtained for different modular gait modes. The results show that locomotion speed is related to the original state of the body segments and modular gaits. As the initial actuated segments and driven modules (which correspond to the excitation frequency and shift) increase, faster movement speeds can be realized, which resolves the speed saturation of the earthworm-like robot. The proposed modular gait design method gives a new gait generation principle for the improvement of the locomotion performance of soft, earthworm-like robots.
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Thuruthel, Thomas George, Benjamin Shih, Cecilia Laschi, and Michael Thomas Tolley. "Soft robot perception using embedded soft sensors and recurrent neural networks." Science Robotics 4, no. 26 (January 30, 2019): eaav1488. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.aav1488.
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Recent work has begun to explore the design of biologically inspired soft robots composed of soft, stretchable materials for applications including the handling of delicate materials and safe interaction with humans. However, the solid-state sensors traditionally used in robotics are unable to capture the high-dimensional deformations of soft systems. Embedded soft resistive sensors have the potential to address this challenge. However, both the soft sensors—and the encasing dynamical system—often exhibit nonlinear time-variant behavior, which makes them difficult to model. In addition, the problems of sensor design, placement, and fabrication require a great deal of human input and previous knowledge. Drawing inspiration from the human perceptive system, we created a synthetic analog. Our synthetic system builds models using a redundant and unstructured sensor topology embedded in a soft actuator, a vision-based motion capture system for ground truth, and a general machine learning approach. This allows us to model an unknown soft actuated system. We demonstrate that the proposed approach is able to model the kinematics of a soft continuum actuator in real time while being robust to sensor nonlinearities and drift. In addition, we show how the same system can estimate the applied forces while interacting with external objects. The role of action in perception is also presented. This approach enables the development of force and deformation models for soft robotic systems, which can be useful for a variety of applications, including human-robot interaction, soft orthotics, and wearable robotics.
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Mendoza, Nicolás, and Mahdi Haghshenas-Jaryani. "Combined Soft Grasping and Crawling Locomotor Robot for Exterior Navigation of Tubular Structures." Machines 12, no. 3 (February 24, 2024): 157. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/machines12030157.
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This paper presents the design, development, and testing of a robot that combines soft-body grasping and crawling locomotion to navigate tubular objects. Inspired by the natural snakes’ climbing locomotion of tubular objects, the soft robot includes proximal and distal modules with radial expansion/contraction for grasping around the objects and a longitudinal contractile–expandable driving module in-between for providing a bi-directional crawling movement along the length of the object. The robot’s grasping modules are made of fabrics, and the crawling module is made of an extensible pneumatic soft actuator (ePSA). Conceptual designs and CAD models of the robot parts, textile-based inflatable structures, and pneumatic driving mechanisms were developed. The mechanical parts were fabricated using advanced and conventional manufacturing techniques. An Arduino-based electro-pneumatic control board was developed for generating cyclic patterns of grasping and locomotion. Different reinforcing patterns and materials characterize the locomotor actuators’ dynamical responses to the varying input pressures. The robot was tested in a laboratory setting to navigate a cable, and the collected data were used to modify the designs and control software and hardware. The capability of the soft robot for navigating cables in vertical, horizontal, and curved path scenarios was successfully demonstrated. Compared to the initial design, the forward speed is improved three-fold.
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Xiao, Wei, Dean Hu, Gang Yang, and Chao Jiang. "Modeling and analysis of soft robotic surfaces actuated by pneumatic network bending actuators." Smart Materials and Structures 31, no. 5 (March 16, 2022): 055001. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1361-665x/ac5b1d.
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Abstract Soft robots are a nascent field that aims to provide a safe interaction with humans and better adaptability to unstructured environments. Many tentacle-like one-dimensional soft robots that can mimic the basic motion in nature are developed owing to ease of design and fabrication. To expand the spectrum of soft robots, this paper gives a detailed introduction of a new type of sheet-like two-dimensional soft robot. This soft robot is called soft robotic surface (SRS), which is actuated by pneumatic network bending actuators. An analytical model of the SRS is constructed based on the minimum potential energy method, which considers both its geometry complexity and material nonlinearity. The comparisons among the analytical, experimental, and numerical results demonstrate that the analytical model can accurately predict the SRS deformation. The maximum root mean squared error for the surface morphing is 3.429 mm, which is less than 5% of the maximum displacement for the free end. The effects of the actuating pressure and structural parameter on the SRS deformation are also investigated. The results reveal that the deformation shape of the SRS can be reconfigured by controlling the applied pressure. And the bending angle of the two actuators both decreases with the increase of the width and thickness of the soft surface. The SRS extends the research on soft robots and the developed analytical model also solves the fundamental problem of how to programme the surface morphing of soft robot surfaces. Finally, we fabricate a soft gripper that can grasp object objects with different sizes, shapes, and stiffness, which demonstrates the application of the SRS.
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You, Yifan, Chen Dai, Shunheng Xin, Daniel Quintana, Wesley Shoap, Ronald S. Fearing, and Ezequiel Goldschmidt. "Design, fabrication, and testing of a new soft-pouch robot with 6 degrees of freedom to expand the reach of open and endonasal skull base approaches." Neurosurgical Focus 57, no. 6 (December 1, 2024): E7. https://doi.org/10.3171/2024.9.focus24540.
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OBJECTIVE Most robots currently used in neurosurgery aid surgeons in placing spinal hardware and guiding electrodes and biopsy probes toward brain targets. These robots are inflexible, cannot turn corners, and exert excessive force when dissecting and retracting brain tissue, limiting their applicability in cranial base surgery. In this study, the authors present a novel soft-pouch robot prototype driven by compressed air and capable of gentle tissue manipulation. The robot is manufactured with technology developed by the authors, with multiple bidirectional bending points and a miniature camera running through the robot’s central channel. METHODS A soft, pneumatically driven pouch manipulator was created using a novel rapid and scalable system (integrated multilayer pouch robots with inkjet-patterned thin films). Made from 4 layers of thin, low-density polyethylene films, the manipulator has a thin deflated profile (152 µm) and contains 5 independent bidirectional joints with 50° range in each direction, as well as a wrapping end-effector. The robot carries a camera through its central channel. Four cadaveric models were used to demonstrate the robotic prototype being maneuvered inside different anatomical structures during simulated endonasal and posterior fossa approaches, with a manually positioned robot base and manually controlled air pressures. RESULTS The robot is a pneumatically driven, soft-continuum manipulator with 12 control inputs and 6 independently controllable degrees of freedom. This design enables in-plane obstacle avoidance and orientation control. The robot is trapezoidal-shaped, with a total weight of 0.4 g, a 10-mm-wide distal end, and a length of 138 mm. The variable production cost (materials cost) of the manipulator is approximately $1. The manipulator is maneuvered to enter the maxillary sinus and through the endonasal corridor, demonstrating its potential use for anterior skull base approaches. It is also successfully maneuvered around the pons in a simulated retrosigmoid approach. CONCLUSIONS This robot offers a promising solution for safely maneuvering through narrow surgical windows encountered during skull base approaches. The multiple bending points of the robot, combined with its passive deformation capacity, allow it to turn around immovable structures, expanding the reach of surgical openings. The cost-effectiveness, rapid production, and scalability of the robot represent additional advantages.
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Shinde, Mr Pruthviraj, Mr Prathamesh Kadam, Mr Hrushikesh Konnur, and Mr Suraj Kharat. "Study of G-Bot." International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology 10, no. 11 (November 30, 2022): 153–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.22214/ijraset.2022.47275.
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Abstract: This study aims to improve the performance of the vine robot to allow for its movement into hard materials by innovating on a setup that can help it to move through hard materials like rocky terrain, caves, man made covers, etc. increasing its area of use to almost all drilling and surveying activities happening in the industry today and will the time and resources of many of our customers if we succeed in this endeavor. Vine Robots are soft continuum robots design with low-cost fabrication in mind and for the navigation of difficult environments. Unlike traditional robots, which move through surface contact to walk or run, the vine robot relies on growth for movement. Much like a vine and other plants, the robot has a grounded root, or “base,” and can continually grow as it expands to add material at its tip. Vine robots can be easily assembled and programmed by novices while also having the option to perform complex tasks.
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Zhang, Chengguang. "Simulation Analysis of Bionic Robot Fish Based on MFC Materials." Mathematical Problems in Engineering 2019 (June 4, 2019): 1–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/2720873.
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With the development of marine resources, research on underwater robots has received unprecedented attention. The discovery and application of new smart materials provide new ideas for the research of underwater robots, which can overcome the issues of traditional underwater robots and optimize their design. A macro fiber composite (MFC) is a new type of piezoelectric fiber composite that combines actuators and sensors. The material has excellent deflection, good flexibility, and a high electromechanical coupling coefficient. Bionic mechatronics design is an effective way to innovate mechatronics in the future and can significantly improve mechatronics system performance. As an important issue for the design of bionic mechatronics, it is necessary to make robots as soft as natural organisms to achieve similar biological movement with both higher efficiency and performance. Compared with traditional rigid robots, the design and control of a soft robotic fish are difficult because the coupling between the flexible structure and the surrounding environment should be considered, which is difficult to solve due to the large deformation and coupling dynamics. In this paper, an MFC smart material is applied as an actuator in the design of bionic robotic fish. Combined with the piezoelectric constitutive and elastic constitutive equations of the MFC material, the voltage-drive signal is converted to a mechanical load applied to the MFC actuator, which makes the MFC material deform and drives the movement of the robotic fish. The characteristics of caudal fin motion during the swimming process of the bionic robotic fish were analyzed by an acoustic-solid coupling analysis method. The motion control analysis of the bionic robotic fish was carried out by changing the applied driving signal. Through numerical analysis, a new type of soft robotic fish was designed, and the feasibility of using an MFC smart material for underwater bionic robotic fish actuators was verified. The new soft robotic fish was successfully developed to achieve high performance.
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Lei, Jing, Zhenghao Ge, Pengju Fan, Wang Zou, Tao Jiang, and Liang Dong. "Design and Manufacture of a Flexible Pneumatic Soft Gripper." Applied Sciences 12, no. 13 (June 21, 2022): 6306. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/app12136306.
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The soft robot has many degrees of freedom, strong environmental adaptability, and good human–computer interaction ability. As the end-effector of the soft robot, the soft gripper can grasp objects of different shapes without destructivity. Based on the theoretical analysis of the soft robot, the kinematics model of the flexible gripper and the theoretical model of the bending deformation of the air cavity were established. Accordingly, the relationship between the bending angle of the soft gripper and the air pressure was determined. Through the application of finite element software, the bending degree of the pneumatic network multi-cavity soft gripper was simulated, and the influence of structural parameters of soft actuator on bending deformation was determined. In addition, the 3D technology conducts the printing of soft gripper fixtures and molds, the injection molds the actuator, and the human–computer interaction interface controls the movement of the gripper. This paper proposes the control and monitoring of the soft gripper are realized through the electrical control module, the air circuit control module, and the sensor group module, and the size of the airflow velocity can be controlled by PWM DC speed regulation. The adaptability of the soft gripper in grasping objects was verified. The results shows that the software gripper possesses good flexibility and can better grasp objects of different shapes.
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Guo, Hongshuang, Hao Zeng, and Arri Priimagi. "Optically controlled grasping-slipping robot moving on tubular surfaces." Multifunctional Materials 5, no. 2 (March 29, 2022): 024001. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/2399-7532/ac55fd.
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Abstract Stimuli-responsive polymers provide unmatched opportunities for remotely controlled soft robots navigating in complex environments. Many of the responsive-material-based soft robots can walk on open surfaces, with movement directionality dictated by the friction anisotropy at the robot-substrate interface. Translocation in one-dimensional space such as on a tubular surface is much more challenging due to the lack of efficient friction control strategies. Such strategies could in long term provide novel application prospects in, e.g. overhaul at high altitudes and robotic operation within confined environments. In this work, we realize a liquid-crystal-elastomer-based soft robot that can move on a tubular surface through optical control over the grasping force exerted on the surface. Photoactuation allows for remotely switched gripping and friction control which, together with cyclic body deformation, enables light-fueled climbing on tubular surfaces of glass, wood, metal, and plastic with various cross-sections. We demonstrate vertical climbing, moving obstacles along the path, and load-carrying ability (at least 3 × body weight). We believe our design offer new prospects for wirelessly driven soft micro-robotics in confined spacing.
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Lyu, Liang Xiong, Fen Li, Kang Wu, Pan Deng, Seung Hee Jeong, Zhigang Wu, and Han Ding. "Bio-inspired untethered fully soft robots in liquid actuated by induced energy gradients." National Science Review 6, no. 5 (July 11, 2019): 970–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwz083.
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Abstract Soft robotics with new designs, fabrication technologies and control strategies inspired by nature have been totally changing our view on robotics. To fully exploit their potential in practical applications, untethered designs are preferred in implementation. However, hindered by the limited thermal/mechanical performance of soft materials, it has been always challenging for researchers to implement untethered solutions, which generally involve rigid forms of high energy-density power sources or high energy-density processes. A number of insects in nature, such as rove beetles, can gain a burst of kinetic energy from the induced surface-energy gradient on water to return to their familiar habitats, which is generally known as Marangoni propulsion. Inspired by such a behavior, we report the agile untethered mobility of a fully soft robot in liquid based on induced energy gradients and also develop corresponding fabrication and maneuvering strategies. The robot can reach a speed of 5.5 body lengths per second, which is 7-fold more than the best reported, 0.69 (body length per second), in the previous work on untethered soft robots in liquid by far. Further controlling the robots, we demonstrate a soft-robot swarm that can approach a target simultaneously to assure a hit with high accuracy. Without employing any high energy-density power sources or processes, our robot exhibits many attractive merits, such as quietness, no mechanical wear, no thermal fatigue, invisibility and ease of robot fabrication, which may potentially impact many fields in the future.
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Pan, Min, Chenggang Yuan, Hastha Anpalagan, Andrew Plummer, Jun Zou, Junhui Zhang, and Chris Bowen. "Soft Controllable Carbon Fibre-based Piezoresistive Self-Sensing Actuators." Actuators 9, no. 3 (August 30, 2020): 79. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/act9030079.
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Soft robots and devices exploit deformable materials that are capable of changes in shape to allow conformable physical contact for controlled manipulation. While the use of embedded sensors in soft actuation systems is gaining increasing interest, there are limited examples where the body of the actuator or robot is able to act as the sensing element. In addition, the conventional feedforward control method is widely used for the design of a controller, resulting in imprecise position control from a sensory input. In this work, we fabricate a soft self-sensing finger actuator using flexible carbon fibre-based piezoresistive composites to achieve an inherent sensing functionality and design a dual-closed-loop control system for precise actuator position control. The resistance change of the actuator body was used to monitor deformation and fed back to the motion controller. The experimental and simulated results demonstrated the effectiveness, robustness and good controllability of the soft finger actuator. Our work explores the emerging influence of inherently piezoresistive soft actuators to address the challenges of self-sensing, actuation and control, which can benefit the design of next-generation soft robots.
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Bazina, Tomislav, Marko Kladarić, Ervin Kamenar, and Goran Gregov. "Development of Rehabilitation Glove: Soft Robot Approach." Actuators 13, no. 12 (November 22, 2024): 472. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/act13120472.
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This study describes the design, simulation, and development process of a rehabilitation glove driven by soft pneumatic actuators. A new, innovative finger soft actuator design has been developed through detailed kinematic and workspace analysis of anatomical fingers and their actuators. The actuator design combines cylindrical and ribbed geometries with a reinforcing element—a thicker, less extensible structure—resulting in an asymmetric cylindrical bellow actuator driven by positive pressure. The performance of the newly designed actuator for the rehabilitation glove was validated through numerical simulation in open-source software. The simulation results indicate actuators’ compatibility with human finger trajectories. Additionally, a rehabilitation glove was 3D-printed from soft materials, and the actuator’s flexibility and airtightness were analyzed across different wall thicknesses. The 0.8 mm wall thickness and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material were chosen for the final design. Experiments confirmed a strong linear relationship between bending angle and pressure variations, as well as joint elongation and pressure changes. Next, pseudo-rigid kinematic models were developed for the index and little finger soft actuators, based solely on pressure and link lengths. The workspace of the soft actuator, derived through forward kinematics, was visually compared to that of the anatomical finger and experimentally recorded data. Finally, an ergonomic assessment of the complete rehabilitation glove in interaction with the human hand was conducted.
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LIU, YANHUI, GUOQING ZHU, ZHENGQIN LIU, XINYI HU, and RUITAO JIANG. "Tactile design of manipulator fingers based on fingertip/textilefriction-induced vibration stimulations." Industria Textila 71, no. 01 (February 27, 2020): 28–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.35530/it.071.01.1354.
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Textile-like soft and flexible products are widely used in our daily life. Understanding the relationship between the tactilesensations of textiles and the tactile stimuli is essential for developing humanoid robot’s finger haptic system, especiallyfor certain kind of robot systems such as service robots and exploratory robots. This paper built a frequency space thatcan qualitatively represent a roughness sensation of textiles by a developing independently random match algorithm incombination with neurophysiological features of cutaneous mechanoreceptors. The experimental results show that thesum of amplitude in frequency range between 18 and 118 Hz can effectively describe the roughness sensory of textilewith accuracies of 98.5%. In other words, by applying the sum of amplitude in frequency range between 18 and 118 Hzcould successfully match roughness sensation of textiles, and it will help engineer of humanoid robot design manipulatorfinger haptic system in textile field.
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Dawood, Abu Bakar, Jan Fras, Faisal Aljaber, Yoav Mintz, Alberto Arezzo, Hareesh Godaba, and Kaspar Althoefer. "Fusing Dexterity and Perception for Soft Robot-Assisted Minimally Invasive Surgery: What We Learnt from STIFF-FLOP." Applied Sciences 11, no. 14 (July 17, 2021): 6586. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/app11146586.
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In recent years we have seen tremendous progress in the development of robotic solutions for minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Indeed, a number of robot-assisted MIS systems have been developed to product level and are now well-established clinical tools; Intuitive Surgical’s very successful da Vinci Surgical System a prime example. The majority of these surgical systems are based on the traditional rigid-component robot design that was instrumental in the third industrial revolution—especially within the manufacturing sector. However, the use of this approach for surgical procedures on or around soft tissue has come under increasing criticism. The dangers of operating with a robot made from rigid components both near and within a patient are considerable. The EU project STIFF-FLOP, arguably the first large-scale research programme on soft robots for MIS, signalled the start of a concerted effort among researchers to investigate this area more comprehensively. While soft robots have many advantages over their rigid-component counterparts, among them high compliance and increased dexterity, they also bring their own specific challenges when interacting with the environment, such as the need to integrate sensors (which also need to be soft) that can determine the robot’s position and orientation (pose). In this study, the challenges of sensor integration are explored, while keeping the surgeon’s perspective at the forefront of ourdiscussion. The paper critically explores a range of methods, predominantly those developed during the EU project STIFF-FLOP, that facilitate the embedding of soft sensors into articulate soft robot structures using flexible, optics-based lightguides. We examine different optics-based approaches to pose perception in a minimally invasive surgery settings, and methods of integration are also discussed.
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Furukawa, Shota, Shuichi Wakimoto, Takefumi Kanda, and Hiroki Hagihara. "A Soft Master-Slave Robot Mimicking Octopus Arm Structure Using Thin Artificial Muscles and Wire Encoders." Actuators 8, no. 2 (May 13, 2019): 40. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/act8020040.
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An octopus arm with a flexible structure and no rigid skeleton shows a high degree of freedom and flexibility. These excellent features are suitable for working in an environment having fragile and unknown-shaped objects. Therefore, a soft robot arm resembling an octopus arm can be useful as a harvesting machine without damaging crops in the agricultural field, as a rehabilitation apparatus in the welfare field, as a safe surgery tool in the medical field, and so on. Unlike industrial robots, to consider the applications of the soft robot arm, the instructions for it relating to a task cannot in many cases be given as a numerical value, and the motion according to an operator’s sense and intent is useful. This paper describes the design and feedback control of a soft master-slave robot system. The system is configured with two soft rubber machines; one is a slave machine that is the soft robot arm mimicking the muscle arrangement of the octopus arm by pneumatic artificial muscles, and the other is a master machine that gives the target motion to the slave machine. Both are configured with soft materials. The slave machine has an actuating part and a sensing part, it can perform bending and torsional motions, and these motions are estimated by the sensing part with threads that connect to wire encoders. The master machine is almost the same configuration, but it has no actuating part. The slave machine is driven according to the deformation of the master machine. We confirmed experimentally that the slave machine followed the master machine that was deformed by an operator.
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Correia, A., T. Charters, A. Leite, F. Campos, N. Monge, A. Rocha, and M. J. G. C. Mendes. "Design, Control, and Testing of a Multifunctional Soft Robotic Gripper." Actuators 13, no. 12 (November 25, 2024): 476. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/act13120476.
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This paper proposes a multifunctional soft robotic gripper for a Dobot robot to handle sensitive products. The gripper is based on pneumatic network (PneuNet) bending actuators. In this study, two different models of PneuNet actuators have been studied, designed, simulated, experimentally tested, and validated using two different techniques (3D printing and molding) and three different materials: FilaFlex 60A (3D-printed), Elastosil M4601, and Dragonskin Fast 10 silicones (with molds). A new soft gripper design for the Dobot robot is presented, and a new design/production approach with molds is proposed to obtain the gripper’s PneuNet multifunctional actuators. It also describes a new control approach that is used to control the PneuNet actuators and gripper function, using compressed air generated by a small compressor/air pump, a pressure sensor, a mini valve, etc., and executing on a low-cost controller board—Arduino UNO. This paper presents the main simulation and experimental results of this research study.
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Xu, Zeyu, Wenbo Shi, Dianbo Zhao, Ke Li, Junguang Li, Junyi Dong, Yu Han, Jiansheng Zhao, and Yanhong Bai. "Research Progress on Low Damage Grasping of Fruit, Vegetable and Meat Raw Materials." Foods 12, no. 18 (September 15, 2023): 3451. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/foods12183451.
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The sorting and processing of food raw materials is an important step in the food production process, and the quality of the sorting operation can directly or indirectly affect the quality of the product. In order to improve production efficiency and reduce damage to food raw materials, some food production enterprises currently use robots for sorting operations of food raw materials. In the process of robot grasping, some food raw materials such as fruits, vegetables and meat have a soft appearance, complex and changeable shape, and are easily damaged by the robot gripper. Therefore, higher requirements have been put forward for robot grippers, and the research and development of robot grippers that can reduce damage to food raw materials and ensure stable grasping has been a major focus. In addition, in order to grasp food raw materials with various shapes and sizes with low damage, a variety of sensors and control strategies are required. Based on this, this paper summarizes the low damage grasp principle and characteristics of electric grippers, pneumatic grippers, vacuum grippers and magnetic grippers used in automated sorting production lines of fruit, vegetable and meat products, as well as gripper design methods to reduce grasp damage. Then, a grasping control strategy based on visual sensors and tactile sensors was introduced. Finally, the challenges and potential future trends faced by food robot grippers were summarized.
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Zhang, Chenghong, Bin He, Zhipeng Wang, Yanmin Zhou, and Aiguo Ming. "Application and Analysis of an Ionic Liquid Gel in a Soft Robot." Advances in Materials Science and Engineering 2019 (May 2, 2019): 1–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/2857282.
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Due to their light weight, flexibility, and low energy consumption, ionic electroactive polymers have become a hotspot for bionic soft robotics and are ideal materials for the preparation of soft actuators. Because the traditional ionic electroactive polymers, such as ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs), contain water ions, a soft actuator does not work properly upon the evaporation of water ions. An ionic liquid polymer gel is a new type of ionic electroactive polymer that does not contain water ions, and ionic liquids are more thermally and electrochemically stable than water. These liquids, with a low melting point and a high ionic conductivity, can be used in ionic electroactive polymer soft actuators. An ionic liquid gel (ILG), a new type of soft actuator material, was obtained by mixing 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMIMBF4), hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), diethoxyacetophenone (DEAP) and ZrO2 and then polymerizing this mixture into a gel state under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation. An ILG soft actuator was designed, the material preparation principle was expounded, and the design method of the soft robot mechanism was discussed. Based on nonlinear finite element theory, the deformation mechanism of the ILG actuator was deeply analyzed and the deformation of the soft robot when grabbing an object was also analyzed. A soft robot was designed with the soft actuator as the basic module. The experimental results show that the ILG soft robot has good driving performance, and the soft robot can grab a 105 mg object at an input voltage of 3.5 V.
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Sedal, Audrey, and Alan Wineman. "Force reversal and energy dissipation in composite tubes through nonlinear viscoelasticity of component materials." Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 476, no. 2241 (September 2020): 20200299. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2020.0299.
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Fibre-reinforced, fluid-filled structures are commonly found in nature and emulated in devices. Researchers in the field of soft robotics have used such structures to build lightweight, impact-resistant and safe robots. The polymers and biological materials in many soft actuators have these advantageous characteristics because of viscoelastic energy dissipation. Yet, the gross effects of these underlying viscoelastic properties have not been studied. We explore nonlinear viscoelasticity in soft, pressurized fibre-reinforced tubes, which are a popular type of soft actuation and a common biological architecture. Relative properties of the reinforcement and matrix materials lead to a rich parameter space connecting actuator inputs, loading response and energy dissipation. We solve a mechanical problem in which both the fibre and the matrix are nonlinearly viscoelastic, and the tube deforms into component materials’ nonlinear response regimes. We show that stress relaxation of an actuator can cause the relationship between the working fluid input and the output force to reverse over time compared to the equivalent, non-dissipative case. We further show that differences in design parameter and viscoelastic material properties can affect energy dissipation throughout the use cycle. This approach bridges the gap between viscoelastic behaviour of fibre-reinforced materials and time-dependent soft robot actuation.
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Liu, Bangyuan, Feiyu Chen, Sukai Wang, Zhiqiang Fu, Tingyu Cheng, and Tiefeng Li. "Electromechanical Control and Stability Analysis of a Soft Swim-Bladder Robot Driven by Dielectric Elastomer." Journal of Applied Mechanics 84, no. 9 (July 12, 2017). http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/1.4037147.
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Compared to the conventional rigid robots, the soft robots driven by soft active materials possess unique advantages with their high adaptability in field exploration and seamless interaction with human. As one type of soft robot, soft aquatic robots play important roles in the application of ocean exploration and engineering. However, the soft robots still face grand challenges, such as high mobility, environmental tolerance, and accurate control. Here, we design a soft robot with a fully integrated onboard system including power and wireless communication. Without any motor, dielectric elastomer (DE) membrane with a balloonlike shape in the soft robot can deform with large actuation, changing the total volume and buoyant force of the robot. With the help of pressure sensor, the robot can move to and stabilize at a designated depth by a closed-loop control. The performance of the robot has been investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Numerical results from the analysis agree well with the results from the experiments. The mechanisms of actuation and control may guide the further design of soft robot and smart devices.
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Anak Victor Luna, Glady Amen, Mohd Shahrimie Mohd Asaari, Mohamad Tarmizi Abu Seman, and Abdul Sattar Din. "A review on soft in-pipe navigation robot from the perspective of material, structure, locomotion strategy, and actuation technique." Robotica, November 26, 2024, 1–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0263574724001796.
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Abstract Pipelines are used in many sectors to transport materials such as fluid from one place to another. These pipelines require regular inspection and maintenance to ensure proper operations and to avoid accidents. Many in-pipe navigation robots have been developed to perform the inspection. Soft in-pipe navigation robot is a special class of in-pipe robot, where the structure is made entirely of soft materials. The soft in-pipe robots are cheaper, lightweight, robust, and more adaptable to the environment inside pipelines as compared to the traditional rigid in-pipe navigation robot. This paper reviews the design of different types of soft in-pipe navigation in terms of the material, structure, locomotion strategy, and actuation techniques. These four different aspects of the design help researchers to narrow down their research and explore different opportunities within each of the design aspects. This paper also offers suggestions on the direction of research to improve the current soft in-pipe navigation robot design.
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Tsai, Samuel, Qiong Wang, Yuzhe Wang, William P. King, and Sameh Hani Tawfick. "Miniature Soft Jumping Robots Made by Additive Manufacturing." Smart Materials and Structures, August 25, 2023. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1361-665x/acf41e.
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Abstract Fleets of insect-scale robots could navigate space-constrained environments for future applications in agriculture and maintenance. Long distance jumping expands the mobility of small robots. However, the performance of miniature jumpers is hindered by small-scale manufacturing processes and the limited library of design rules, materials, and actuators available at that scale. The intricate components in these robots are produced by manual assembly of miniature components, which imposes design constraints and causes mass inefficiency, reducing the overall system performance. Here, we combine bioinspired kinematic design, coiled artificial muscle actuators, and projection additive manufacturing (AM) to produce a monolithic elastomeric robot design. The fully elastomeric design, inspired by the kinematics of the locust jumping mechanism, can store elastic energy throughout the robot body before releasing it in the form of jumping kinetic energy, thus offering high energy storage density, miniaturization, and lightweight. Enabled by high-speed, production-grade AM, we designed and tested a fleet of 108 robot designs. The smallest tested robot has a length of 7.5 mm, a mass of 0.216 g, and jumps 60 times its body size in horizontal distance. A reduced-order model is developed to predict the compliant robot jumping distance, which agrees well with the experimental results. The jumping is driven by onboard coiled artificial muscles connected to a latch-triggering mechanism. Moreover, the robot can jump while carrying an integrated control system and power source to enable self-triggered jumping. A proof-of-concept motor-driven launch base is used to store large elastic energy in the robot. Overall, the combination of elastomeric AM, coiled artificial muscles, and an integrated triggering mechanism enables the production of fleets of high-performing miniature jumping robots.
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Li, Yuxin, Hainuo Wang, Xin Li, Yu Wang, Sheng Lu, Qifu Tang, Jiufei Luo, and Ping-an Yang. "Recent progress in soft robots: Principles, designs, and applications." Smart Materials and Structures, September 26, 2024. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1361-665x/ad8053.
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Abstract With advancements in the manufacturing industry persisting, soft robots have experienced rapid development, progressively emerging as a pivotal focus in the future trajectory of robotic technology. As a new type of robot technology, soft robots have significant differences from traditional robots in terms of principles, driving methods, design control, and other aspects. Here, we sort out and summarize the latest developments in soft robotics. Firstly, typical principles and driving methods were introduced, including rope drive, variable stiffness drive (gas negative pressure, intelligent fluids, etc.), electromagnetic drive, and so on. Secondly, the main materials and characteristics of soft robots are analyzed, including hydrogels, shape memory alloys, photosensitive materials, electromagnetic rheological elastomer, biodegradable materials, etc. Then, typical soft robot structures and processing methods were introduced, including fluid static skeleton structures, muscle fluid static skeleton structures, and others. Finally, the problems of soft robots are analyzed, and the future development direction and importance are summarized. This paper highlights the recent progress in smart functional materials, typical biomimetic structures, and assembly methods applicable to soft robots, which is expected to assist the development and advancement of the next generation of soft robots.
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Wang, Dong, Baowen Zhao, Xinlei Li, Le Dong, Mengjie Zhang, Jiang Zou, and Guoying Gu. "Dexterous electrical-driven soft robots with reconfigurable chiral-lattice foot design." Nature Communications 14, no. 1 (August 21, 2023). http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40626-x.
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AbstractDexterous locomotion, such as immediate direction change during fast movement or shape reconfiguration to perform diverse tasks, are essential animal survival strategies which have not been achieved in existing soft robots. Here, we present a kind of small-scale dexterous soft robot, consisting of an active dielectric elastomer artificial muscle and reconfigurable chiral-lattice foot, that enables immediate and reversible forward, backward and circular direction changes during fast movement under single voltage input. Our electric-driven soft robot with the structural design can be combined with smart materials to realize multimodal functions via shape reconfigurations under the external stimulus. We experimentally demonstrate that our dexterous soft robots can reach arbitrary points in a plane, form complex trajectories, or lower the height to pass through a narrow tunnel. The proposed structural design and shape reconfigurability may pave the way for next-generation autonomous soft robots with dexterous locomotion.
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Yanlin He, Likun Gao, Yuchen Bai, Hangwei Zhu, Guangkai Sun, Lianqing Zhu, and Haidong Xu. "Stretchable optical fibre sensor for soft surgical robot shape reconstruction." Optica Applicata 51, no. 4 (2021). http://dx.doi.org/10.37190/oa210410.
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Soft robotics presents several advantages in the field of minimally invasive surgery. However, existing methods have not fully addressed problems related to soft robot shape sensing due to the complex motion of soft robots and the stretchable nature of the soft materials employed. This study demonstrates the shape sensing of a soft robot with a helically embedded stretchable fibre Bragg grating (FBG)-based optical fibre sensor. Unlike straight FBG embedding configurations, this unique helical configuration prevents sensor dislocation, supports material stretchability, and facilitates shape detection for various soft-robot movements. The proposed soft-robot design principle and FBG sensor are analysed and their fabrication process, which includes an FBG-written optical fibre sensor, is described. Bending experiments are conducted with the soft robot, the wavelengths of FBG sensors at different bending and telescopic movement states are obtained, and the soft-robot shape is reconstructed. Experimental results demonstrate that the maximum error between FBG sensing and the actual bending state is less than 2.5%, validating the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed helical stretchable FBG sensing method for the shape measurement of soft robots. These results indicate the potential and applicability of this shape-sensing approach in biomedical research.
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Shen, Feiyang, and Shuofei Yang. "Design and analysis of a thick-panel origami-inspired soft crawling robot with multiple locomotion patterns." Robotica, October 14, 2024, 1–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0263574724001504.
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Abstract Due to the flexibility obtained through both materials and structures, soft robots have wide potential applications in complicated internal and external environments. This paper presents a new soft crawling robot with multiple locomotion patterns that integrate inchworm motion and various turning motions. First, the conceptual design of the proposed robot is presented by introducing thick-panel origami into the synthesis of a crawling robot, resulting in a Waterbomb-structure-inspired hybrid mechanism. Second, all locomotion patterns of the robot are precisely described and analyzed by screw theory in an algebraic manner, which include inchworm motion, restricted planar motion, quantitative turning motion, and marginal exploration motion. Then, the output motion parameter for each locomotion pattern is analytically modeled as a function of the robotic dimensional parameters, and the robot can thus be designed and controlled in a customized way for the expected output motion. Finally, the theoretical analysis and derivations are validated by simulation and physical prototype building, which lay the foundations for the design and manufacture of small-scale soft crawling robots with precise output motions in a complex planar environment.
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Soon, Ren Hao, Zhen Yin, Metin Alp Dogan, Nihal Olcay Dogan, Mehmet Efe Tiryaki, Alp Can Karacakol, Asli Aydin, Pouria Esmaeili-Dokht, and Metin Sitti. "Pangolin-inspired untethered magnetic robot for on-demand biomedical heating applications." Nature Communications 14, no. 1 (June 20, 2023). http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38689-x.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractUntethered magnetic miniature soft robots capable of accessing hard-to-reach regions can enable safe, disruptive, and minimally invasive medical procedures. However, the soft body limits the integration of non-magnetic external stimuli sources on the robot, thereby restricting the functionalities of such robots. One such functionality is localised heat generation, which requires solid metallic materials for increased efficiency. Yet, using these materials compromises the compliance and safety of using soft robots. To overcome these competing requirements, we propose a pangolin-inspired bi-layered soft robot design. We show that the reported design achieves heating > 70 °C at large distances > 5 cm within a short period of time <30 s, allowing users to realise on-demand localised heating in tandem with shape-morphing capabilities. We demonstrate advanced robotic functionalities, such as selective cargo release, in situ demagnetisation, hyperthermia and mitigation of bleeding, on tissue phantoms and ex vivo tissues.