Te Li, Guoqing Zhang, Xinyuan Li, Xu Li, Haibo Liu, Yongqing Wang
{"title":"Flexible head-following motion planning for scalable and bendable continuum robots","authors":"Te Li, Guoqing Zhang, Xinyuan Li, Xu Li, Haibo Liu, Yongqing Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.birob.2024.100161","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.birob.2024.100161","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Continuum robots, which are characterized by high length-to-diameter ratios and flexible structures, show great potential for various applications in confined and irregular environments. Due to the combination of motion modes, the existence of multiple solutions, and the presence of complex obstacle constraints, motion planning for these robots is highly challenging. To tackle the challenges of online and flexible operation for continuum robots, we propose a flexible head-following motion planning method that is suitable for scalable and bendable continuum robots. Firstly, we establish a piecewise constant curvature (PCC) kinematic model for scalable and bendable continuum robots. The article proposes an adaptive auxiliary points model and a method for updating key nodes in head-following motion to enhance the precise tracking capability for paths with different curvatures. Additionally, the article integrates the strategy for adjusting the posture of local joints of the robot into the head-following motion planning method, which is beneficial for achieving safe obstacle avoidance in local areas. The article concludes by presenting the results of multiple sets of motion simulation experiments and prototype experiments. The study demonstrates that the algorithm presented in this paper effectively navigates and adjusts posture to avoid obstacles, meeting the real-time demands of online operations. The average time for a single-step solution is <span><math><mrow><mn>4</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>41</mn><mo>×</mo><mn>1</mn><msup><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>5</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></math></span> s, and the average tracking accuracy for circular paths is 7.8928 mm.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100184,"journal":{"name":"Biomimetic Intelligence and Robotics","volume":"4 2","pages":"Article 100161"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667379724000196/pdfft?md5=a4753b1453ab69e8cde78350393945f9&pid=1-s2.0-S2667379724000196-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141054690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"NP-MBO: A newton predictor-based momentum observer for interaction force estimation of legged robots","authors":"Zhengguo Zhu, Weikai Ding, Weiliang Zhu, Daoling Qin, Teng Chen, Xuewen Rong, Guoteng Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.birob.2024.100160","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.birob.2024.100160","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Swift perception of interaction forces is a crucial skill required for legged robots to ensure safe human–robot interaction and dynamic contact management. Proprioceptive-based interactive force is widely applied due to its outstanding cross-platform versatility. In this paper, we present a novel interactive force observer, which possesses superior dynamic tracking performance. We propose a dynamic cutoff frequency configuration method to replace the conventional fixed cutoff frequency setting in the traditional momentum-based observer (MBO). This method achieves a balance between rapid tracking and noise suppression. Moreover, to mitigate the phase lag introduced by the low-pass filtering, we cascaded a Newton Predictor (NP) after MBO, which features simple computation and adaptability. The precision analysis of this method has been presented. We conducted extensive experiments on the point-foot biped robot BRAVER to validate the performance of the proposed algorithm in both simulation and physical prototype.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100184,"journal":{"name":"Biomimetic Intelligence and Robotics","volume":"4 2","pages":"Article 100160"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667379724000184/pdfft?md5=f5869ab8346de44b6fa2fa3551268ecb&pid=1-s2.0-S2667379724000184-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140918981","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Deqing Kong , Ryo Tanimura , Fang Wang , Kailiang Zhang , Minoru Kuribayashi Kurosawa , Manabu Aoyagi
{"title":"Swimmer with submerged SiO2/Al/LiNbO3 surface acoustic wave propulsion system","authors":"Deqing Kong , Ryo Tanimura , Fang Wang , Kailiang Zhang , Minoru Kuribayashi Kurosawa , Manabu Aoyagi","doi":"10.1016/j.birob.2024.100159","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.birob.2024.100159","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Acoustic propulsion system presents a novel underwater propulsion approach in small scale swimmer. This study introduces a submerged surface acoustic wave (SAW) propulsion system based on the SiO<sub>2</sub>/Al/LiNbO <sub>3</sub> structure. At 19.25 MHz, the SAW propulsion system is proposed and investigated by the propulsion force calculation, PIV measurements and propulsion measurements. 3.3 mN propulsion force is measured at 27.6 V<span><math><msub><mrow></mrow><mrow><mi>p</mi><mi>p</mi></mrow></msub></math></span>. To evaluate the miniature swimmer, the SAW propulsion systems with multiple frequencies are studied. At 2.2 W, the submerged SAW propulsion system at 38.45 MHz demonstrates 0.83 mN/mm<span><math><msup><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></math></span> propulsion characteristics. At 96.13 MHz and 24 V<span><math><msub><mrow></mrow><mrow><mi>p</mi><mi>p</mi></mrow></msub></math></span>, the movements of miniature swimmer with a fully submerged SAW propulsion system are recorded and analyzed to a maximum of 177 mm/s. Because of miniaturization, high power density, and simple structure, the SAW propulsion system can be expected for some microrobot applications, such as underwater drone, pipeline robot and intravascular robot.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100184,"journal":{"name":"Biomimetic Intelligence and Robotics","volume":"4 2","pages":"Article 100159"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667379724000172/pdfft?md5=15b90a424624f2a1f3986b3fbba56314&pid=1-s2.0-S2667379724000172-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140783688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Structure design and coordinated motion analysis of bionic crocodile robot","authors":"Jun Wang, Jingya Zheng, Yuhang Zhao, Kai Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.birob.2024.100157","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.birob.2024.100157","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Crocodiles, one of the oldest and most resilient species on Earth, have demonstrated remarkable locomotor abilities both on land and in water, evolving over millennia to adapt to diverse environments. In this study, we draw inspiration from crocodiles and design a highly biomimetic crocodile robot equipped with multiple degrees of freedom and articulated trunk joints. This design is based on comprehensive analysis of the structural and motion characteristics of real crocodiles. The bionic crocodile robot has a problem of limb-torso incoordination during movement. To solve this problem, we used the D-H method for both forward and inverse kinematics analysis of the robot’s legs and spine. Through a series of simulation experiments, we investigated the robot’s motion stability, fault tolerance, and adaptability to environments in two motor patterns: with and without spine and tail movements. The experimental results show that the bionic crocodile robot exhibits superior motion performance when the spine and tail cooperate with the extremities. This study not only demonstrates the potential of biomimicry in robotics but also underscores the significance of understanding how nature’s designs can inform and enhance technological innovations.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100184,"journal":{"name":"Biomimetic Intelligence and Robotics","volume":"4 2","pages":"Article 100157"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667379724000159/pdfft?md5=511e843ef956f20f057c079a11a4839a&pid=1-s2.0-S2667379724000159-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140536786","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lingling Chen , Jiabao Huang , Yanglong Wang , Shijie Guo , Mengge Wang , Xin Guo
{"title":"Adaptive patient-cooperative compliant control of lower limb rehabilitation robot","authors":"Lingling Chen , Jiabao Huang , Yanglong Wang , Shijie Guo , Mengge Wang , Xin Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.birob.2024.100155","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.birob.2024.100155","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>With the increase in the number of stroke patients, there is a growing demand for rehabilitation training. Robot-assisted training is expected to play a crucial role in meeting this demand. To ensure the safety and comfort of patients during rehabilitation training, it is important to have a patient-cooperative compliant control system for rehabilitation robots. In order to enhance the motion compliance of patients during rehabilitation training, a hierarchical adaptive patient-cooperative compliant control strategy that includes patient-passive exercise and patient-cooperative exercise is proposed. A low-level adaptive backstepping position controller is selected to ensure accurate tracking of the desired trajectory. At the high-level, an adaptive admittance controller is employed to plan the desired trajectory based on the interaction force between the patient and the robot. The results of the patient–robot cooperation experiment on a rehabilitation robot show a significant improvement in tracking trajectory, with a decrease of 76.45% in the dimensionless squared jerk (DSJ) and a decrease of 15.38% in the normalized root mean square deviation (NRMSD) when using the adaptive admittance controller. The proposed adaptive patient-cooperative control strategy effectively enhances the compliance of robot movements, thereby ensuring the safety and comfort of patients during rehabilitation training.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100184,"journal":{"name":"Biomimetic Intelligence and Robotics","volume":"4 2","pages":"Article 100155"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667379724000135/pdfft?md5=1f5bc58b6d3f1a44be84872ba0ab6946&pid=1-s2.0-S2667379724000135-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140274750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xinyang Wang , Jiawei Zhao , Xuan Pei , Tianmiao Wang , Taogang Hou , Xingbang Yang
{"title":"Bioinspiration review of Aquatic Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (AquaUAV)","authors":"Xinyang Wang , Jiawei Zhao , Xuan Pei , Tianmiao Wang , Taogang Hou , Xingbang Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.birob.2024.100154","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.birob.2024.100154","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The performance of Aquatic Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (AquaUAV) has always been limited so far and far from practical applications, due to insufficient propulsion, large-resistance structure etc. Aerial-aquatic amphibians in nature may facilitate the development of AquaUAV since their excellent amphibious locomotion capabilities evolved under long-term natural selection. This article will take four typical aerial-aquatic amphibians as representatives, i.e., gannet, cormorant, flying fish and flying squid. We summarized the multi-mode locomotion process of common aerial-aquatic amphibians and the evolutionary trade-offs they have made to adapt to amphibious environments. The four typical propulsion mechanisms were investigated, which may further inspire the propulsion design of the AquaUAV. And their morphological models could guide the layout optimization. Finally, we reviewed the state of art in AquaUAV to validate the potential value of our bioinspiration, and discussed the future prospects.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100184,"journal":{"name":"Biomimetic Intelligence and Robotics","volume":"4 2","pages":"Article 100154"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667379724000123/pdfft?md5=c010adb40006edc1ea92f19a697800f1&pid=1-s2.0-S2667379724000123-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140272073","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jingwei Liu , Man Li , Yahui Wang , Da Zhao , Rui Deng
{"title":"Multi-gait snake robot for inspecting inner wall of a pipeline","authors":"Jingwei Liu , Man Li , Yahui Wang , Da Zhao , Rui Deng","doi":"10.1016/j.birob.2024.100156","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.birob.2024.100156","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In the field of pipeline inner wall inspection, the snake robot demonstrates significant advantages over other inspection methods. While a simple traveling wave or meandering motion will suffice for inspecting the inner wall of small-diameter pipes, comprehensively and meticulously inspecting the inner wall of large-diameter pipes requires the snake robot to adopt a helical gait that closely adheres to the inner wall. Our review of existing literature indicates that most research and development on the helical gait of snake robots has focused on the outer surface of cylinders, with very few studies dedicated to developing a helical gait specifically for the inspection of the inner wall of pipes. Therefore, in this study, we propose a helical gait that is suitable for the inner wall of pipes and meets the requirements of gas pipeline engineering. The helical gait is designed using the backbone curve method. First, we create a mathematical model for a circular helix curve with constant curvature and torsion, ensuring it is applicable to a snake robot prototype in a laboratory environment. Subsequently, we calculate the joint angles required for two conical spiral curves with variable curvature and torsion, establish a new model, and define the physical significance of the specific parameters. To ensure the feasibility of the proposed gait, we conduct experiments involving meandering and traveling wave motions to verify the communication and control between the host computer and the snake robot. Building upon this foundation, we further validate the mathematical model of the complex helical motion gait through simulation experiments. Our findings provide a theoretical basis for realizing helical movement with a real snake robot.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100184,"journal":{"name":"Biomimetic Intelligence and Robotics","volume":"4 2","pages":"Article 100156"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667379724000147/pdfft?md5=334834b637d7048cd9c82b8109d4664e&pid=1-s2.0-S2667379724000147-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140269866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enhancing undulation of soft robots in granular media: A numerical and experimental study on the effect of anisotropic scales","authors":"Longchuan Li, Chaoyue Zhao, Shuqian He, Qiukai Qi, Shuai Kang, Shugen Ma","doi":"10.1016/j.birob.2024.100158","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.birob.2024.100158","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":100184,"journal":{"name":"Biomimetic Intelligence and Robotics","volume":"55 30","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140400664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Defect detection and repair algorithm for structures generated by topology optimization based on 3D hierarchical fully convolutional network","authors":"Zhiyu Wan , Hai Lan , Sichao Lin , Houde Dai","doi":"10.1016/j.birob.2024.100149","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.birob.2024.100149","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Customized 3D-printed structural parts are widely used in surgical robotics. To satisfy the mechanical properties and kinematic functions of these structural parts, a topology optimization technique is adopted to obtain the optimal structural layout while meeting the constraints and objectives. However, topology optimization currently faces some practical challenges that must be addressed, such as ensuring that structures do not have significant defects when converted to additive manufacturing models. To address this problem, we designed a 3D hierarchical fully convolutional network (FCN) to predict the precise position of the defective structures. Based on the prediction results, an effective repair strategy is adopted to repair the defective structure. A series of experiments is conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach. Compared to the 2D fully convolutional network and the rule-based detection method, our approach can accurately capture most defect structures and achieve 89.88% precision and 95.59% recall. Furthermore, we investigate the impact of different ways to increase the receptive field of our model, as well as the trade-off between different defect-repairing strategies. The results of the experiment demonstrate that the hierarchical structure, which increases the receptive field, can substantially improve the defect detection performance. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first to investigate 3D defect prediction and repair for topology optimization in conjunction with deep learning algorithms, providing practical tools and new perspectives for the subsequent development of topology optimization techniques.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100184,"journal":{"name":"Biomimetic Intelligence and Robotics","volume":"4 2","pages":"Article 100149"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266737972400007X/pdfft?md5=8cc99c42fe162200d86da52126e5ba63&pid=1-s2.0-S266737972400007X-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140187259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xuanyi Zhou , Yuqiu Zhang , Zhiwei Qiu , Zhecheng Shan , Shibo Cai , Guanjun Bao
{"title":"Locomotion control of a rigid-soft coupled snake robot in multiple environments","authors":"Xuanyi Zhou , Yuqiu Zhang , Zhiwei Qiu , Zhecheng Shan , Shibo Cai , Guanjun Bao","doi":"10.1016/j.birob.2024.100148","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.birob.2024.100148","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The versatile motion capability of snake robots offers themselves robust adaptability in varieties of challenging environments where traditional robots may be incapacitated. This study reports a novel flexible snake robot featuring a rigid–flexible coupling structure and multiple motion gaits. To better understand the robot’s behavior, a bending model for the soft actuator is established. Furthermore, a dynamic model is developed to map the relationship between the input air pressure and joint torque, which is the model base for controlling the robot effectively. Based on the wave motion generated by the joint coupling direction function in different planes, multiple motion gait planning methods of the snake-like robot are proposed. In order to evaluate the adaptability and maneuverability of the developed snake robot, extensive experiments were conducted in complex environments. The results demonstrate the robot’s effectiveness in navigating through intricate settings, underscoring its potential for applications in various fields.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100184,"journal":{"name":"Biomimetic Intelligence and Robotics","volume":"4 2","pages":"Article 100148"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667379724000068/pdfft?md5=e0a6fbae43b7a25b3540a5774b9ca26f&pid=1-s2.0-S2667379724000068-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140187258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}