Design and Characterization of a Modular Hybrid Continuum Robotic Manipulator

Yang, Hee Doo; Asbeck, Alan T.

doi:10.1109/tmech.2020.2993543

Cited by 36 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The control is an open-loop type of control that is effectuated by a custom controller consisting mostly of a PLC and high-voltage relays [ 57 ]. Yang et al developed a pneumatically actuated manipulator through pressurization and the use of a vacuum that used joints based on rotary actuators; the manipulator employed closed-loop control with a positioning accuracy of less than 1 cm [ 58 ].…”

Section: State Of the Art In Soft Roboticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soft Robotics: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis

et al. 2023

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In recent years, soft robotics has developed considerably, especially since the year 2018 when it became a hot field among current research topics. The attention that this field receives from researchers and the public is marked by the substantial increase in both the quantity and the quality of scientific publications. In this review, in order to create a relevant and comprehensive picture of this field both quantitatively and qualitatively, the paper approaches two directions. The first direction is centered on a bibliometric analysis focused on the period 2008–2022 with the exact expression that best characterizes this field, which is “Soft Robotics”, and the data were taken from a series of multidisciplinary databases and a specialized journal. The second direction focuses on the analysis of bibliographic references that were rigorously selected following a clear methodology based on a series of inclusion and exclusion criteria. After the selection of bibliographic sources, 111 papers were part of the final analysis, which have been analyzed in detail considering three different perspectives: one related to the design principle (biologically inspired soft robotics), one related to functionality (closed/open-loop control), and one from a biomedical applications perspective.

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Section: State Of the Art In Soft Roboticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soft Robotics: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis

et al. 2023

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“…Moving from the actuator level to the system level, different actuator configurations are possible with antagonistic configurations enabling simultaneous position and stiffness control (see [21][22][23]). While certain systems are realized from only soft materials (e.g., [17]), other robotic systems combine soft and rigid materials to form hybrid systems [24].…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and Control of an Inflatable Spherical Robotic Arm for Pick and Place Applications

2021

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We present an inflatable soft robotic arm made of fabric that leverages state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques, leading to a robust and reliable manipulator. Three bellow-type actuators are used to control two rotational degrees of freedom, as well as the joint stiffness that is coupled to a longitudinal elongation of the movable link used to grasp objects. The design is motivated by a safety analysis based on first principles. It shows that the interaction forces during an unexpected collision are primarily caused by the attached payload mass, but can be reduced by a lightweight design of the robot arm. A control allocation strategy is employed that simplifies the modeling and control of the robot arm and we show that a particular property of the allocation strategy ensures equal usage of the actuators and valves. The modeling and control approach systematically incorporates the effect of changing joint stiffness and the presence of a payload mass. An investigation of the valve flow capacity reveals that a proper timescale separation between the pressure and arm dynamics is only given for sufficient flow capacity. Otherwise, the applied cascaded control approach can introduce oscillatory behavior, degrading the overall control performance. A closed form feed forward strategy is derived that compensates errors induced by the longitudinal elongation of the movable link and allows the realization of different object manipulation applications. In one of the applications, the robot arm hands an object over to a human, emphasizing the safety aspect of the soft robotic system. Thereby, the intrinsic compliance of the robot arm is leveraged to detect the time when the robot should release the object.

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“…Unlike various molding methods for silicone rubbers, the lack of simple, molding-based, readily programmable, and modeling prototyping method makes it challenging to construct complex pneumatic channels inside fabric-based chambers, thus strongly limiting the development of pneumatic actuators made of entire fabric. Most existing designs adopt superpositions of multiple pouches to achieve extension or bending motions (49)(50)(51) or construct cylindrical chambers for structural support (51,52), due to the low stretchability of the fabric upon inflation. Nevertheless, the bulky structure of multiple pouches results in complicated fabrication and lower compliance, leading to limited workspaces as well as single-mode and less programmable actuation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soft and lightweight fabric enables powerful and high-range pneumatic actuation

et al. 2023

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Soft structures and actuation allow robots, conventionally consisting of rigid components, to perform more compliant, adaptive interactions similar to living creatures. Although numerous functions of these types of actuators have been demonstrated in the literature, their hyperelastic designs generally suffer from limited workspaces and load-carrying capabilities primarily due to their structural stretchability factor. Here, we describe a series of pneumatic actuators based on soft but less stretchable fabric that can simultaneously perform tunable workspace and bear a high payload. The motion mode of the actuator is programmable, combinable, and predictable and is informed by rapid response to low input pressure. A robotic gripper using three fabric actuators is also presented. The gripper demonstrates a grasping force of over 150 N and a grasping range from 70 to 350 millimeters. The design concept and comprehensive guidelines presented would provide design and analysis foundations for applying less stretchable yet soft materials in soft robots to further enhance their practicality.

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Design and Characterization of a Modular Hybrid Continuum Robotic Manipulator

Cited by 36 publications

References 36 publications

Soft Robotics: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis

Soft Robotics: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis

Design and Control of an Inflatable Spherical Robotic Arm for Pick and Place Applications

Soft and lightweight fabric enables powerful and high-range pneumatic actuation

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