Dynamic simulation of articulated soft robots

Abstract

Soft robots are primarily composed of soft materials that can allow for mechanically robust maneuvers that are not typically possible with conventional rigid robotic systems. However, owing to the current limitations in simulation, design and control of soft robots often involve a painstaking trial. With the ultimate goal of a computational framework for soft robotic engineering, here we introduce a numerical simulation tool for limbed soft robots that draws inspiration from discrete differential geometry based simulation of slender structures. The simulation incorporates an implicit treatment of the elasticity of the limbs, inelastic collision between a soft body and rigid surface, and unilateral contact and Coulombic friction with an uneven surface. The computational efficiency of the numerical method enables it to run faster than real-time on a desktop processor. Our experiments and simulations show quantitative agreement and indicate the potential role of predictive simulations for soft robot design.

Task space adaptation via the learning of gait controllers of magnetic soft millirobots

“…Simulation techniques build upon these modeling methods as in the finite-element methods (FEMs), which construct continuum robot structures using a chain of rigid elements connected with tunable spring-damper mechanisms (Chenevier et al, 2018;Goury and Duriez, 2018). Numerical approaches using voxel-based representations (Hiller and Lipson, 2014) and discrete differential geometries (DDGs) (Huang et al, 2020) improve the computation time of soft robotic simulations at the expense of nonlinear dynamics precision. These models and simulation tools typically allow the implementation of static and dynamic controllers for continuum robots on a larger scale (Thuruthel et al, 2018).…”

Liquid‐Phase Super Photoactuator through the Synergetic Effects of a Janus Structure and Solvent/Thermal/Photo Responses

“…Smart material-based actuators have attracted much research interest owing to their envisioned applications in the fields of soft robots, [1,2] artificial muscles, [3,4] motors, [5,6] and energy generators. [7,8] Practically, an artificial actuator remotely controlled by light is preferable for realizing sophisticated actuation [9,10] owing to the advantages of cost-effectiveness, wireless actuation, and fast response.…”

Steering on Degrees of Freedom of 2D Van der Waals Heterostructures

“…The key milestones in these developments are illustrated in Scheme 1. [ 18–28 ] Generally speaking, the uniformity and integrity of the prepared heterostructures are highly dependent on the as‐used fabrication processes. Based on the evaluation of the step‐by‐step stacking flow path, one can disassemble the stacking processes into three crucial steps, selecting the target 2D material flakes (or called as Lego‐like basic building blocks), designing the out‐of‐plane stacking order of the heterostructures (for vertical microstructure definition), and the twist‐angle alignment between adjacent flakes (for lateral microstructure definition), which finally determines the electronic band structures and physical properties of the heterostructures.…”