{"title":"A Biomimetic Adhesive Disc for Robotic Adhesion Sliding Inspired by the Net-Winged Midge Larva.","authors":"Haoyuan Xu,Jiale Zhi,Bohan Chen,Shuyong Zhao,Jie Huang,Chongze Bi,Lei Li,Bochen Tian,Yuchen Liu,Yiyuan Zhang,JinXi Duan,Fuqiang Yang,Xia He,Kun Xu,Ke Wu,Tianmiao Wang,Nguyen Pham,Xilun Ding,Li Wen","doi":"10.1089/soro.2023.0253","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/soro.2023.0253","url":null,"abstract":"Net-winged midge larvae (Blephariceridae) are known for their remarkable ability to adhere to and crawl on the slippery surfaces of rocks in fast-flowing and turbulent alpine streams, waterfalls, and rivers. This remarkable performance can be attributed to the larvae's powerful ventral suckers. In this article, we first develop a theoretical model of the piston-driven sucker that considers the lubricated state of the contact area. We then implement a piston-driven robotic sucker featuring a V-shaped notch to explore the adhesion-sliding mechanism. Each biomimetic larval sucker has the unique feature of an anterior-facing V-shaped notch on its soft disc rim; it slides along the shear direction while the entire disc surface maintains powerful adhesion on the benthic substrate, just like the biological counterpart. We found that this biomimetic sucker can reversibly transit between \"high friction\" (4.26 ± 0.34 kPa) and \"low friction\" (0.41 ± 0.02 kPa) states due to the piston movement, resulting in a frictional enhancement of up to 93.9%. We also elucidate the frictional anisotropy (forward/backward force ratio: 0.81) caused by the V-shaped notch. To demonstrate the robotic application of this adhesion-sliding mechanism, we designed an underwater crawling robot Adhesion Sliding Robot-1 (ASR-1) equipped with two biomimetic ventral suckers. This robot can successfully crawl on a variety of substrates such as curved surfaces, sidewalls, and overhangs and against turbulent water currents with a flow speed of 2.4 m/s. In addition, we implemented a fixed-wing aircraft Adhesion Sliding Robot-2 (ASR-2) featuring midge larva-inspired suckers, enabling transit from rapid water surface gliding to adhesion sliding in an aquatic environment. This adhesion-sliding mechanism inspired by net-winged midge larvae may pave the way for future robots with long-term observation, monitoring, and tracking capabilities in a wide variety of aerial and aquatic environments.","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142443677","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soft RoboticsPub Date : 2024-10-10DOI: 10.1089/soro.2023.0262
Yu Dang,Jingyu Zhang,Jie Chen,Tianyu Jiang,Jianda Han
{"title":"YoMo: Yoshimura Continuum Manipulator for MR Environment.","authors":"Yu Dang,Jingyu Zhang,Jie Chen,Tianyu Jiang,Jianda Han","doi":"10.1089/soro.2023.0262","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/soro.2023.0262","url":null,"abstract":"Origami robots have garnered attention due to their versatile deformation and potential applications, particularly for medical applications. In this article, we propose a Yoshimura continuum manipulator (YoMo) that can achieve accurate control of the tip position for the magnetic resonance (MR) environment. The YoMo made of a single piece of paper is cable-actuated to generate the bending and shortening deformation. The paper-based YoMo attached to an arc frame can readily function under different orientations in the MR environment. The design and fabrication of YoMo were formulated according to the Yoshimura folding pattern. The kinematics model based on constant curvature assumption was derived as a benchmark method to predict the tip position of the YoMo. The Koopman operator theory was applied to describe the relationship between the tip position and the length change under different orientations. The linear quadratic regulator integrated into the Koopman-based model (K-LQR) was adopted to achieve the trajectory tracking. Comprehensive experiments were carried out to examine the proposed YoMo, its modeling and control methods. The performance of the YoMo including stiffness and workspace was characterized via a customized test setup. The Koopman-based method demonstrates the superiority over the constant curvature-based model to predict the tip position. The K-LQR control method was examined with different trajectories, and the impact of the orientation, speed, and different trajectories were taken into consideration. The results demonstrate the YoMo is capable of achieving trajectory tracking with satisfied accuracy, indicating its potential for medical applications in the MR environment.","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142436220","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soft RoboticsPub Date : 2024-09-20DOI: 10.1089/soro.2022.0214
Peter Seungjune Lee,Cameron Sjaarda,Run Ze Gao,Jacob Dupuis,Maya Rukavina-Nolsoe,Carolyn L Ren
{"title":"Soft-Rigid Hybrid Revolute and Prismatic Joints Using Multilayered Bellow-Type Soft Pneumatic Actuators: Design, Characterization, and Its Application as Soft-Rigid Hybrid Gripper.","authors":"Peter Seungjune Lee,Cameron Sjaarda,Run Ze Gao,Jacob Dupuis,Maya Rukavina-Nolsoe,Carolyn L Ren","doi":"10.1089/soro.2022.0214","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/soro.2022.0214","url":null,"abstract":"Despite the exponentially expanding capabilities of robotic systems with the introduction of soft robotics, the lack of practical considerations in designing and integrating soft robotic components hinders the widespread application of newly developed technology in real life. This study investigates the development and performance evaluation of soft-rigid hybrid (SRH) robotic systems employing multilayered bellow-shaped soft pneumatic actuators (MBSPAs) to overcome the common challenges exclusively exhibited in soft robotics. Specifically, we introduce a unique SRH revolute joint enabled by a single thermoplastic polyurethane-MBSPA and rigid components to tackle the limitations of existing soft pneumatic actuators (SPAs), such as restricted payload capacity, vulnerability to external damages, and lack of resilience against outdoor environment. The proposed SRH system entails rigid components encapsulating to protect the MBSPA throughout the entirety of the desired range of motion, and demonstrates improved displacement efficiency, force output, and resilience against external loads. The rigid components also help to stabilize the axis of motion, fostering high durability and repeatable motion. We also extend this concept to a one-degree of freedom SRH prismatic joint. Finite element method modeling is used to estimate the general actuator performance, facilitating the design of MBSPA with limited material information and bypassing trial and error. The wider application of this research targets delicate object handling in industries such as agriculture, encouraging safe and efficient automated harvesting. The article includes thorough actuator performance characterization including displacement, frequency response, durability with life cycle testing up to 25,000 cycles, force output, stiffness, and power density. Performance comparisons with other SPA are provided. A proof of concept 3-point gripper enabled by the proposed SRH joints is capable of gripping objects of various sizes and shapes, with detailed workspace analysis and demonstration showing the gripper's versatility. The SRH system presented here lays a robust foundation for the ongoing advancement of soft robotic technology toward real-life applications, unveiling the potential for a future in which robots operate efficiently in the targeted applications, aiming to integrate seamlessly into workflows with human workers.","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142275231","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soft RoboticsPub Date : 2024-09-10DOI: 10.1089/soro.2024.0007
Yeongjin Choi,Gyowook Shin,Sohee John Yoon,Yong-Lae Park
{"title":"Soft Electromagnetic Sliding Actuators for Highly Compliant Planar Motions Using Microfluidic Conductive Coil Array.","authors":"Yeongjin Choi,Gyowook Shin,Sohee John Yoon,Yong-Lae Park","doi":"10.1089/soro.2024.0007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/soro.2024.0007","url":null,"abstract":"We propose a soft electromagnetic sliding actuator that provides various planar motions to construct highly compliant actuation systems. The actuator is composed of a fully soft actuation base (stator) for generating electromagnetic and magnetic forces and a rigid neodymium magnet (slider) that slides on the actuation base. A parallel liquid-metal coil array in the stator is designed based on theoretical modeling and an optimization process to maximize the electromagnetic field density. The stretchable magnetic components in the stator allow the slider to retain its position stably without additional constraints. By incorporating an untethered structure in which the slider is mechanically decoupled from the stator, the actuator can be operated with reduced power consumption, attributed to the absence of a restoring force. The trajectory of the slider can be programmed by selectively applying the input current to the liquid-meal coil array, and the location of the slider can be estimated by measuring the change in inductance of each coil. Moreover, the proposed actuator demonstrates the capability of operating on curved surfaces through its physical compliance as well as on inclined surfaces thanks to the holding force generated by the magnetic components of the stator. Taking advantage of the unique characteristics of our actuator, robotic applications, including shape morphing systems and sensor-actuator integrated systems, are demonstrated.","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142165836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soft RoboticsPub Date : 2024-04-01Epub Date: 2023-08-30DOI: 10.1089/soro.2022.0229
Jiseong Shin, Babar Jamil, Hyungpil Moon, Ja Choon Koo, Hyouk Ryeol Choi, Hugo Rodrigue
{"title":"Thermo-Pneumatic Artificial Muscle: Air-Based Thermo-Pneumatic Artificial Muscles for Pumpless Pneumatic Actuation.","authors":"Jiseong Shin, Babar Jamil, Hyungpil Moon, Ja Choon Koo, Hyouk Ryeol Choi, Hugo Rodrigue","doi":"10.1089/soro.2022.0229","DOIUrl":"10.1089/soro.2022.0229","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>To make robots more human-like and safer to use around humans, artificial muscles exhibiting compliance have gained significant attention from researchers. However, despite having excellent performance, pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs) have failed to gain significant traction in commercial mobile applications due to their requirement to be tethered to a pneumatic source. This study presents a thermo-PAM called Thermo-PAM that relies on heating of a volume of air to produce a deformation. This allows for pneumatic actuation using only an electrical power source and thus enables pumpless pneumatic actuation. The actuator uses a high ratio between the heating volume and the deformable volume to produce a high actuation force throughout its entire motion and can produce either contractile or extension motions. The controllability of the actuator was demonstrated as well as its ability to handle heavy payloads. Moreover, it is possible to rely on either positive or negative pressure actuation modes where the positive pressure actuation mode actuates when heated and the negative pressure actuation mode relaxes when heated. The ability to use Thermo-PAMs for different modes of actuation with different operation methods makes the proposed actuator highly versatile and demonstrates its potential for advanced pumpless robotic applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":" ","pages":"187-197"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10112999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soft RoboticsPub Date : 2024-02-01Epub Date: 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1089/soro.2022.0206
Linxiaohai Ning, Chayabhan Limpabandhu, Zion Tsz Ho Tse
{"title":"Engineering Magnetic Soft and Reconfigurable Robots.","authors":"Linxiaohai Ning, Chayabhan Limpabandhu, Zion Tsz Ho Tse","doi":"10.1089/soro.2022.0206","DOIUrl":"10.1089/soro.2022.0206","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Magnetic control has gained popularity recently due to its ability to enhance soft robots with reconfigurability and untethered maneuverability, among other capabilities. Several advancements in the fabrication and application of reconfigurable magnetic soft robots have been reported. This review summarizes novel fabrication techniques for designing magnetic soft robots, including chemical and physical methods. Mechanisms of reconfigurability and deformation properties are discussed in detail. The maneuverability of magnetic soft robots is then briefly discussed. Finally, the present challenges and possible future work in designing reconfigurable magnetic soft robots for biomedical applications are identified.</p>","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":" ","pages":"2-20"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9917154","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Variable Stiffness Soft Gripper Based on Rotational Layer Jamming.","authors":"Mingzhu Zhu, Mengying Xie, Yoshiki Mori, Junyue Dai, Sadao Kawamura, Xiaokui Yue","doi":"10.1089/soro.2022.0232","DOIUrl":"10.1089/soro.2022.0232","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article presents the design and fabrication of a variable stiffness soft gripper based on layer jamming. Traditional layer jamming units have some limitations, such as complicated multistep fabrication, difficulties in system integration, and diminishing in stiffen effect. In this article, a variable stiffness soft gripper is proposed based on the rotational jamming layers to reduce the slippery phenomenon between layers. To fabricate the proposed complex design, a two-step fabrication method is presented. First, multimaterial 3D printing is applied to directly print out the soft finger body with jamming layers. Second, mold casting is used to fabricate the outer vacuum chamber. The proposed gripper contains a main framework and three identical variable stiffness soft fingers. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the design, the soft gripper is mounted on a robotic arm to test its ability of grasping heavy objects while following complex grasping trajectory. The gripper can successfully grasp an object up to 360 g. Grasping robustness of the proposed gripper can be guaranteed when the robotic arm is moving at acceleration up to 7 m/s<sup>2</sup>. The results prove that the proposed design of the soft gripper can improve the grippers grasping robustness during high-speed movement.</p>","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":" ","pages":"85-94"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10075681","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soft RoboticsPub Date : 2024-02-01Epub Date: 2023-07-21DOI: 10.1089/soro.2022.0220
Ruochao Wang, Hang Xiao, Xiaolong Quan, Junhui Gao, Toshio Fukuda, Qing Shi
{"title":"Bioinspired Soft Spine Enables Small-Scale Robotic Rat to Conquer Challenging Environments.","authors":"Ruochao Wang, Hang Xiao, Xiaolong Quan, Junhui Gao, Toshio Fukuda, Qing Shi","doi":"10.1089/soro.2022.0220","DOIUrl":"10.1089/soro.2022.0220","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>For decades, it has been difficult for small-scale legged robots to conquer challenging environments. To solve this problem, we propose the introduction of a bioinspired soft spine into a small-scale legged robot. By capturing the motion mechanism of rat erector spinae muscles and vertebrae, we designed a cable-driven centrally symmetric soft spine under limited volume and integrated it into our previous robotic rat SQuRo. We called this newly updated robot SQuRo-S. Because of the coupling compliant spine bending and leg locomotion, the environmental adaptability of SQuRo-S significantly improved. We conducted a series of experiments on challenging environments to verify the performance of SQuRo-S. The results demonstrated that SQuRo-S crossed an obstacle of 1.07 body height, thereby outperforming most small-scale legged robots. Remarkably, SQuRo-S traversed a narrow space of 0.86 body width. To the best of our knowledge, SQuRo-S is the first quadruped robot of this scale that is capable of traversing a narrow space with a width smaller than its own width. Moreover, SQuRo-S demonstrated stable walking on mud-sand, pipes, and slopes (20°), and resisted strong external impact and repositioned itself in various body postures. This work provides a new paradigm for enhancing the flexibility and adaptability of small-scale legged robots with spine in challenging environments, and can be easily generalized to the design and development of legged robots with spine of different scales.</p>","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":" ","pages":"70-84"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9849514","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soft RoboticsPub Date : 2024-02-01Epub Date: 2023-08-24DOI: 10.1089/soro.2022.0197
Qiqiang Hu, Junyang Li, Jian Tao, Erbao Dong, Dong Sun
{"title":"Inverse Origami Design Model for Soft Robotic Development.","authors":"Qiqiang Hu, Junyang Li, Jian Tao, Erbao Dong, Dong Sun","doi":"10.1089/soro.2022.0197","DOIUrl":"10.1089/soro.2022.0197","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Origami provides an opportunity to construct a wide range of 3D functional structures by folding a flat sheet. It can be used to develop various soft functional robots by combining soft smart actuators. However, a simple and an effective model that can address the challenging problem of designing origami patterns to connect origami design with robotics is lacking, thereby greatly increasing the threshold of soft origami robots and hindering its development. This study proposes an easy-to-use inverse origami design model to generate the flat crease pattern from the desired folded shape automatically while simulating origami morphing by simply providing the shape parameters or 2D shape graphics. This method overcomes the difficulty of origami design and enables a close connection between origami and robotics. Through this method, various soft origami robots can be developed with low design complexity and time cost to achieve different functions, thereby promoting the development of soft origami robots.</p>","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":" ","pages":"131-139"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10070353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soft RoboticsPub Date : 2024-02-01Epub Date: 2023-07-20DOI: 10.1089/soro.2022.0198
Qifan Yu, Nick Gravish
{"title":"Multimodal Locomotion in a Soft Robot Through Hierarchical Actuation.","authors":"Qifan Yu, Nick Gravish","doi":"10.1089/soro.2022.0198","DOIUrl":"10.1089/soro.2022.0198","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Soft and continuum robots present the opportunity for extremely large ranges of motion, which can enable dexterous, adaptive, and multimodal locomotion behaviors. However, as the number of degrees of freedom (DOF) of a robot increases, the number of actuators should also increase to achieve the full actuation potential. This presents a dilemma in mobile soft robot design: physical space and power requirements restrict the number and type of actuators available and may ultimately limit the movement capabilities of soft robots with high-DOF appendages. Restrictions on actuation of continuum appendages ultimately may limit the various movement capabilities of soft robots. In this work, we demonstrate multimodal behaviors in an underwater robot called \"Hexapus.\" A hierarchical actuation design for multiappendage soft robots is presented in which a single high-power motor actuates all appendages for locomotion, while smaller low-power motors augment the shape of each appendage. The flexible appendages are designed to be capable of hyperextension for thrust, and flexion for grasping with a peak pullout force of 32 N. For propulsion, we incorporate an elastic membrane connected across the base of each tentacle, which is stretched slowly by the high-power motor and released rapidly through a slip-gear mechanism. Through this actuation arrangement, Hexapus is capable of underwater locomotion with low cost of transport (COT = 1.44 at 16.5 mm/s) while swimming and a variety of multimodal locomotion behaviors, including swimming, turning, grasping, and crawling, which we demonstrate in experiment.</p>","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":" ","pages":"21-31"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9848248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}