{"title":"Human-Powered Master Controllers for Reconfigurable Fluidic Soft Robots.","authors":"Yunce Zhang, Tao Wang, Weidong He, Shiqiang Zhu","doi":"10.1089/soro.2022.0077","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fluidic soft robots have the advantages of inherent compliance and adaptability, but they are significantly restricted by complex control systems and bulky power devices, including fluidic valves, fluidic pumps, electrical motors, as well as batteries, which make it challenging to operate in narrow space, energy shortage, or electromagnetic sensitive situations. To overcome the shortcomings, we develop portable human-powered master controllers to provide an alternative solution for the master-slave control of the fluidic soft robots. Each controller can supply multiple fluidic pressures to the multiple chambers of the soft robots simultaneously. We use modular fluidic soft actuators to reconfigure soft robots with various functions as control objects. Experimental results show that flexible manipulation and bionic locomotion can be simply realized using the human-powered master controllers. The developed controllers which eliminate energy storage and electronic components can provide a promising candidate of soft robot control in surgical, industrial, and entertainment applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":" ","pages":"1126-1136"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4000,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Soft Robotics","FirstCategoryId":"94","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1089/soro.2022.0077","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/5/17 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ROBOTICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Fluidic soft robots have the advantages of inherent compliance and adaptability, but they are significantly restricted by complex control systems and bulky power devices, including fluidic valves, fluidic pumps, electrical motors, as well as batteries, which make it challenging to operate in narrow space, energy shortage, or electromagnetic sensitive situations. To overcome the shortcomings, we develop portable human-powered master controllers to provide an alternative solution for the master-slave control of the fluidic soft robots. Each controller can supply multiple fluidic pressures to the multiple chambers of the soft robots simultaneously. We use modular fluidic soft actuators to reconfigure soft robots with various functions as control objects. Experimental results show that flexible manipulation and bionic locomotion can be simply realized using the human-powered master controllers. The developed controllers which eliminate energy storage and electronic components can provide a promising candidate of soft robot control in surgical, industrial, and entertainment applications.
期刊介绍:
Soft Robotics (SoRo) stands as a premier robotics journal, showcasing top-tier, peer-reviewed research on the forefront of soft and deformable robotics. Encompassing flexible electronics, materials science, computer science, and biomechanics, it pioneers breakthroughs in robotic technology capable of safe interaction with living systems and navigating complex environments, natural or human-made.
With a multidisciplinary approach, SoRo integrates advancements in biomedical engineering, biomechanics, mathematical modeling, biopolymer chemistry, computer science, and tissue engineering, offering comprehensive insights into constructing adaptable devices that can undergo significant changes in shape and size. This transformative technology finds critical applications in surgery, assistive healthcare devices, emergency search and rescue, space instrument repair, mine detection, and beyond.