Euglenoid-Inspired Giant Shape Change for Highly Deformable Soft Robots

Digumarti, Krishna Manaswi; Conn, Andrew T.; Rossiter, Jonathan

doi:10.1109/lra.2017.2726113

Cited by 42 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Soft robotics technology has drawn great research interest over the past two decades for its relatively low cost, safe human-robot interaction and application in confined or constricted environments (see e.g., [1][2][3][4][5][6]). Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are an emerging type of soft actuator that has advantages over conventional actuators in terms of large actuation strains, high energy density, good scalability and low cost [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance Optimization of a Conical Dielectric Elastomer Actuator

Cao

Conn

2018

Actuators

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Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are known as 'artificial muscles' due to their large actuation strain, high energy density and self-sensing capability. The conical configuration has been widely adopted in DEA applications such as bio-inspired locomotion and micropumps for its good compactness, ease for fabrication and large actuation stroke. However, the conical protrusion of the DEA membrane is characterized by inhomogeneous stresses, which complicate their design. In this work, we present an analytical model-based optimization for conical DEAs with the three biasing elements: (I) linear compression spring; (II) biasing mass; and (III) antagonistic double-cone DEA. The optimization is to find the maximum stroke and work output of a conical DEA by tuning its geometry (inner disk to outer frame radius ratio a/b) and pre-stretch ratio. The results show that (a) for all three cases, stroke and work output are maximum for a pre-stretch ratio of 1 × 1 for the Parker silicone elastomer, which suggests the stretch caused by out-of-plane deformation is sufficient for this specific elastomer. (b) Stroke maximization is obtained for a lower a/b ratio while a larger a/b ratio is required to maximize work output, but the optimal a/b ratio is less than 0.3 in all three cases. (c) The double-cone configuration has the largest stroke while single cone with a biasing mass has the highest work output.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance Optimization of a Conical Dielectric Elastomer Actuator

Cao

Conn

2018

Actuators

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“…Here we compare the conceptual relation between diameter and length. The structures chosen for comparison are McKibben actuators, ideal balloon, standard bellows, hyperelastic bellows (HEB, [30]) and solid elastomers. This comparison is shown in fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tiled Auxetic Cylinders for Soft Robots

Simons

Digumarti

Conn

et al. 2019

2019 2nd IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)

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Compliant structures allow robots to overcome environmental challenges by deforming and conforming their bodies. In this paper, we investigate auxetic structures as a means of achieving this compliance for soft robots. Taking a tiling based approach, we fabricate 3D printed cylindrical auxetic structures to create tiled auxetic cylinders (TACs). We characterise the relative stiffness of the structures and show that variation in behaviour can be achieved by modifying the geometry within the same tiling family. In addition, we analysed the equivalent Poisson's ratio and found the range between the investigated designs to span from -0.33 to -2. Furthermore, we demonstrate a conceptual application in the design of a soft robot using the auxetic cylinders. We show that these structures can reactively change in shape, thereby reducing the complexity of control, with potential applications in confined spaces such as the human body, or for exploration through unpredictable terrain.

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“…In previous work [8], we presented the design of a hyperelastic bellows (HEB) actuator in a soft robot to replicate the giant changes in shape of euglenoids. However, the change in shape was brought about by a mechanism different to that in the organism, as it relied on folding and elastic extension of a cylindrical bellows to change shape.…”

Section: A Bioinspiration From the Euglenoid Pelliclementioning

confidence: 99%