We present a mechanical design and implementation of spherical ultrasonic motor (SUSM) that is an actuator with multiple rotational degrees of freedom (multi-DOF). The motor is constructed of 3 annular stators and a spherical rotor and is much smaller and simpler than conventional multi-DOF mechanisms such as gimbals using servomotors. We designed a novel SUSM using experimental data from a single annular stator and a finite element method. The SUSM using a spherical rotor of diameter 20 mm without any reduction gear has demonstrated advantages of high responsiveness, good accuracy, and high torque at low speed. The dynamic implementation of SUSM was consistent with the driving model of SUSM based on a friction drive.
Locomotion of soft-bodied organisms, such as amoeba, worms, and octopuses, is safe, robust, and adaptable and has great promise for applications in complex environments. While such organisms fully exploit the potential provided by their soft structures, engineering solutions commonly constrain soft deformation in favor of controllability. In this study, we study how soft deformations can enhance the climbing capabilities of a robot. We introduce a robot called Longitudinally Extensible Continuum-robot inspired by Hirudinea (LEeCH), which has few shape constraints. Inspired by real leeches, LEeCH has a flexible extensible body and two suction cups at the ends. It is capable of performing 3D climbing locomotion using two suction cups driven by vacuum pumps and tri-tube soft actuators which have only three DC motors. The large deformations occurring in LEeCH extend its workspace compared to robots based on constant curvature models, and we show successful locomotion transition from one surface to another at angles between 0° and 180° in experiment. We develop a model based on multibody dynamics to predict the nonlinear deformations of the robot, which we verify in the experiment. The model reveals a nondimensional morphological parameter, which relates the robot's shape to its mass, stiffness, and size. The workspace of LEeCH as a function of this parameter is studied in simulation and is shown to move beyond that of robots based on constant curvature models.
We report a miniature rotary-linear piezoelectric actuator with a single cubic stator of side length 3.5 mm which can generate rotary motion around the center axis and linear motion in the axial direction. The stator is fabricated as a single metallic cube of side length 3.5 mm with a 2.5-mm diameter through-hole and four piezoelectric elements bonded to the sides of the stator. The simplicity makes the actuator compact without any special manufacturing. In the design for miniaturization, the modal analysis using the finite element method indicates the natural frequency of the stator from the side length 14 mm to 3.5 mm. In the experiments, rotary motion of 24 rad/s and 2.5 microNm were obtained at a resonant frequency of 280 kHz, and linear motion of 80 mm/s and 2.6 mN was observed at 305 kHz by driving the system at an applied voltage of 42 V(rms).
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