Morphing Robots Using Robotic Skins That Sculpt Clay

Shah, Dylan; Yuen, Michelle C.; Tilton, Liana G.; Yang, Ellen J.; Kramer‐Bottiglio, Rebecca

doi:10.1109/lra.2019.2902019

Cited by 32 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Once the field has reliable solutions for soft robot proprioception, it is conceivable that shape feedback would enable controlled shape-change in robots. Current soft robots do not have much ability to morph into specific configurations, yet even simple shape-change has led to innovative solutions for a wide range of tasks, such as obstacle avoidance (34), rolling locomotion (117), underwater locomotion (118) and camouflage (119). Larger shape-change could result in robots which switch between morphologies and corresponding locomotion gaits on-demand (Fig.…”

Section: Open Questions and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Electronic skins and machine learning for intelligent soft robots

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Soft robots have garnered interest for real-world applications because of their intrinsic safety embedded at the material level. These robots use deformable materials capable of shape and behavioral changes and allow conformable physical contact for manipulation. Yet, with the introduction of soft and stretchable materials to robotic systems comes a myriad of challenges for sensor integration, including multimodal sensing capable of stretching, embedment of high-resolution but large-area sensor arrays, and sensor fusion with an increasing volume of data. This Review explores the emerging confluence of e-skins and machine learning, with a focus on how roboticists can combine recent developments from the two fields to build autonomous, deployable soft robots, integrated with capabilities for informative touch and proprioception to stand up to the challenges of real-world environments.

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Section: Open Questions and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To limit the scope of this review, we consider a soft robot skin to be skin sensors directly mounted on the surface (e.g. (34)) or embedded in a thin layer beneath the surface of the body of a soft robot (e.g. (16)).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electronic skins and machine learning for intelligent soft robots

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“…The fabric robot was able to overcome obstacles during locomotion, and adapted environments to perform variable tasks. [149] Fiber-based grippers are inherent lighter, simpler, and more universal, but the actuation force is small and the speed is low, urging the need to develop new advanced materials. Besides, sensors are indispensable for the interaction control, high integration of the different devices is pursuing.…”

Section: Fiber-actuator-based Soft Grippersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional Fibers and Fabrics for Soft Robotics, Wearables, and Human–Robot Interface

2020

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Fiber that has been known for thousands of years for textile engineering, is a kind of thin 1D material with large length-diameter ratio and softness. Fiber can be further processed into 1D or 3D yarns and 2D or 3D fabrics and can be subjected to wellestablished textile manufacturing techniques, such as dyeing, twisting, sewing, knitting, weaving, braiding, etc. [1] As commercially available material, fabric has been widely used for clothing, bedding, or furniture. Such wide-adoption demonstrates fabrics/textiles to be important and adaptable as daily useable material due to their merits of protection, breathability, comfort, and durability. [2] In recent years, novel smart responsive functions are desirable to be implemented on fibers and fabrics for seamless integrations of actuators, sensors, power sources, etc., to realize the robotic fibers/fabric-based manipulators and human-robot interfaces. These emerging responsive fibers/ fabrics are desirable to offer programmable functions, actuations, perception and capable of building an intuitive and dynamic collaborative scenarios with human, promising in enabling applications such as remote operation, human motion assistance, human perception, health monitoring and biomedical detection and therapy. [3][4][5] It is an attractive concept that the future human-robot interfaces could be embodied in familiar forms for humans such as textiles or clothes. Compared with the polymeric and elastomeric soft robotics, [6][7][8][9] fibers and fabrics are advantageous in applications of soft robotics and wearables for human. The devices could be programmable to have accurate designs in configuration and high performance by traditional manufacturing processes of textile, applying twist to transform fibers into coils, yarns with hierarchical structures, which could be further fabricated into fabrics or textiles by sewing, weaving, knitting, etc., techniques (Figure 1), guaranteeing good wearability, skin affinity, washability, and durability, which are intriguing and necessary for friendly robotics interactions with human.Soft robotics include three main components of actuators, sensors, and control modules with power sources. [10,11] Of which, actuators, sensors and power sources all could be designed in the form of fibers or fabrics, rendering facile assembly, and integration by interlocking. [12] Common actuations can be Soft robotics inspired by the movement of living organisms, with excellent adaptability and accuracy for accomplishing tasks, are highly desirable for efficient operations and safe interactions with human. With the emerging wearable electronics, higher tactility and skin affinity are pursued for safe and user-friendly human-robot interactions. Fabrics interlocked by fibers perform traditional static functions such as warming, protection, and fashion. Recently, dynamic fibers and fabrics are favorable to deliver active stimulus responses such as sensing and actuating abilities for soft-robots and wearables. First, the responsive mechanisms of fiber/fabric actu...

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“…Other authors have used parallel cables or strings routed within fabric structures in order to achieve composite, sheet-like actuators. 56 Such designs can produce thin, fabric-like actuators, but require careful attention to cable actuation and friction management in order to ensure that dynamic, fast, and reversible actuation is possible. Because FFMS actuators transmit stresses via integral fluids, losses, due to viscosity and channel length (see Modeling, below) remain within ranges that permit highly dynamic operation.…”

Section: Sheet-like Soft Actuatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fluidic Fabric Muscle Sheets for Wearable and Soft Robotics

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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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Morphing Robots Using Robotic Skins That Sculpt Clay

Cited by 32 publications

References 19 publications

Electronic skins and machine learning for intelligent soft robots

Electronic skins and machine learning for intelligent soft robots

Functional Fibers and Fabrics for Soft Robotics, Wearables, and Human–Robot Interface

Fluidic Fabric Muscle Sheets for Wearable and Soft Robotics

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