Flexible Fabric Actuator Realizing 3D Movements Like Human Body Surface for Wearable Devices

Funabora, Yuki

doi:10.1109/iros.2018.8594359

Cited by 23 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Deep learning can model the actuators combined with PBD to improve the accuracy. In our proposed method, the fabric-type actuator was based on Flexible Fabric Actuator [44] published by our laboratory and its variants, and the deformation of the fabric actuator was simulated iteratively including time-series data. Because it is necessary to reduce the computational cost of every deformation simulation, we used a PBD-based simulator.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling Fabric-Type Actuator Using Point Clouds by Deep Learning

et al. 2022

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Flexible actuators are popular in the consumer and medical fields because of their flexibility and compliance. However, they are typically difficult to model because of their viscoelasticity and nonlinearity. This letter proposes a method for correcting the deformation of the simulated flexible robots to make it similar to the deformation of real robots using point clouds by deep learning. Long shortterm memory (LSTM) can simulate the next frame of actuator deformation from the previous frames of deformations. In this study, we presented the robots with four different muscle structures. We found that using an encoder-LSTM-decoder network can improve the similarity between the deformation of a learned muscle structure and the real deformation and is also effective in correcting the deformation of the unlearned structures. Our correction method reduced the average Chamfer distance of the simulated point clouds of the basic-type structure actuator from 15.89 to 7.81. This research can provide a new concept for future flexible robot modeling using point clouds.

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Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling Fabric-Type Actuator Using Point Clouds by Deep Learning

et al. 2022

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“…2 Another consisted of thin McKibben muscles that were woven into fabric structures. 54 When driven to produce contraction along the axis of each muscle, the actuators in such devices expand, causing undesired increases in thickness, adversely affecting potential conformable or wearable applications and reducing efficiency. Other designs have resulted in low forces that preclude many applications.…”

Section: Sheet-like Soft Actuatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fluidic Fabric Muscle Sheets for Wearable and Soft Robotics

et al. 2020

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Conformable robotic systems are attractive for applications in which they can be used to actuate structures with large surface areas, to provide forces through wearable garments, or to realize autonomous robotic systems. We present a new family of soft actuators that we refer to as Fluidic Fabric Muscle Sheets (FFMS). They are composite fabric structures that integrate fluidic transmissions based on arrays of elastic tubes. These sheet-like actuators can strain, squeeze, bend, and conform to hard or soft objects of arbitrary shapes or sizes, including the human body. We show how to design and fabricate FFMS actuators via facile apparel engineering methods, including computerized sewing techniques. Together, these determine the distributions of stresses and strains that can be generated by the FFMS. We present a simple mathematical model that proves effective for predicting their performance. FFMS can operate at frequencies of 5 Hertz or more, achieve engineering strains exceeding 100%, and exert forces greater than 115 times their own weight. They can be safely used in intimate contact with the human body even when delivering stresses exceeding 10 6 Pascals. We demonstrate their versatility for actuating a variety of bodies or structures, and in configurations that perform multi-axis actuation, including bending and shape change. As we also show, FFMS can be used to exert forces on body tissues for wearable and biomedical applications. We demonstrate several potential use cases, including a miniature steerable robot, a glove for grasp assistance, garments for applying compression to the extremities, and devices for actuating small body regions or tissues via localized skin stretch.forces upon, or generate shape changes in complex or compliant structures. 1-3 Wearable soft robotic devices interfaced with the human body may prove valuable for rehabilitation, movement assistance, or virtual reality. [4][5][6] Soft actuators are also of interest for controlling motion in distributed or deformable structures. They can be used for tasks such as grasping, terrestrial locomotion, surgery, or underwater operation. 7-9 Such applications span systems of greatly varying length scales, ranging from millimeter-scale biomedical robots to large, deployable structures. 10,11 Biological systems provide a rich source of information to guide the design of soft robots. 12 The motile capabilities of animals are enabled by composite systems of muscle, connective, and other tissues. The forces and motions they can produce depend on the properties of individual muscle fibers, the arrangement of fibers, and the muscle morphology and attachments. Muscle morphologies vary widely. There are fusiform shapes like the human biceps brachii, that produce large-amplitude motion. There are also fan shapes, such as the pectoralis major, that yield larger forces, sphincter morphologies that contract, and layered muscle sheets, like the transverse abdominis (Fig. 1A), that compress or transfer forces around the torso. 13 The great variety of biologica...

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“…Flexible fabric actuators (Funabora, 2018 ) are also an emerging alternative for developing deformable surfaces without cumbersome electronics. These fabric actuators consist of lightweight and flexible artificial muscles that use electro-pneumatic regulators to create thin artificial muscles on a flexible rubber swath.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

3D Printed Deformable Surfaces for Shape-Changing Displays

Everitt

Alexander

2019

Front. Robot. AI

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We use interlinked 3D printed panels to fabricate deformable surfaces that are specifically designed for shape-changing displays. Our exploration of 3D printed deformable surfaces, as a fabrication technique for shape-changing displays, shows new and diverse forms of shape output, visualizations, and interaction capabilities. This article describes our general design and fabrication approach, the impact of varying surface design parameters, and a demonstration of possible application examples. We conclude by discussing current limitations and future directions for this work.

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Flexible Fabric Actuator Realizing 3D Movements Like Human Body Surface for Wearable Devices

Cited by 23 publications

References 13 publications

Modeling Fabric-Type Actuator Using Point Clouds by Deep Learning

Modeling Fabric-Type Actuator Using Point Clouds by Deep Learning

Fluidic Fabric Muscle Sheets for Wearable and Soft Robotics

3D Printed Deformable Surfaces for Shape-Changing Displays

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