Compact Multilayer Extension Actuators for Reconfigurable Soft Robots

Ambrose, Jonathan William; Chiang, Nicholas Zhang Rong; Cheah, Dylan Sin You; Yeow, Chen-Hua

doi:10.1089/soro.2022.0042

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Pneumatic actuators, as the predominant choice for soft actuators, have been widely utilized in soft miniature locomotion robots due to their simple structure and fabrication process. [ 18 , 19 , 20 ] Nevertheless, their bandwidth is limited [ 21 , 22 ] (typically <5 Hz), and the dimension and weight of air tubes impede their miniaturization and hinder long‐distance locomotion. In response to these limitations, alternative soft actuators, such as dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) and shape memory alloys (SMAs), have been proposed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Amphibious Fully‐Soft Centimeter‐Scale Miniature Crawling Robot Powered by Electrohydraulic Fluid Kinetic Energy

Xiong,

Zhou,

et al. 2024

Advanced Science

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Miniature locomotion robots with the ability to navigate confined environments show great promise for a wide range of tasks, including search and rescue operations. Soft miniature locomotion robots, as a burgeoning field, have attracted significant research interest due to their exceptional terrain adaptability and safety features. Here, a fully‐soft centimeter‐scale miniature crawling robot directly powered by fluid kinetic energy generated by an electrohydraulic actuator is introduced. Through optimization of the operating voltage and design parameters, the average crawling velocity of the robot is dramatically enhanced, reaching 16 mm s−1. The optimized robot weighs 6.3 g and measures 5 cm in length, 5 cm in width, and 6 mm in height. By combining two robots in parallel, the robot can achieve a turning rate of ≈3° s−1. Additionally, by reconfiguring the distribution of electrodes in the electrohydraulic actuator, the robot can achieve 2 degrees‐of‐freedom translational motion, improving its maneuverability in narrow spaces. Finally, the use of a soft water‐proof skin is demonstrated for underwater locomotion and actuation. In comparison with other soft miniature crawling robots, this robot with full softness can achieve relatively high crawling velocity as well as increased robustness and recovery.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Amphibious Fully‐Soft Centimeter‐Scale Miniature Crawling Robot Powered by Electrohydraulic Fluid Kinetic Energy

Xiong,

Zhou,

et al. 2024

Advanced Science

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…SPAs' simple working principle of expansion/contraction with positive and negative pressure requires mechanically preprogramming the SPAs to achieve diverse motions. Examples include McKibben actuators, [6,[14][15][16][17] circumferential reinforced actuators, [3,[18][19][20] pouch motors, [21][22][23] and smart morphologies, [5,[24][25][26] which have been used in a wide range of applications such as medical, [27,28] assistive technologies, [29][30][31][32][33] robotic end-effectors, [34,35] and locomotion. [17,[36][37][38] However, these methods are often designed for a specific application, which lacks versatility and requires substantial resources when applied to new applications.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sarcomere‐Inspired Multilayer Artificial Muscle Units for Hyperconfigurable Robotic Applications

Ambrose,

Tan,

Chiang

et al. 2023

Advanced Intelligent Systems

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Soft pneumatic biomimetic robotic systems excel at the specific application they are designed for, often to interact or navigate unstructured environments safely. However, redeployment to new purposes requires substantial resources, from redesign to revalidation. Despite most pneumatic artificial muscles surpassing the power and contraction performance of natural muscles, natural muscles largely remain unmatched in terms of their versatility and complex performance. This is likely due to artificial muscle's low effective strain and high radial expansion, limiting parallel operating efficiencies. To address these challenges, a class of compact versatile pneumatic actuators, called multilayer artificial muscle (MAM), that are capable of deployment to different applications through configurable modularity, is presented. The MAMs are biomimetically inspired by the sarcomere, the building block for natural muscle architecture. Similarly, MAM can extend and contract as well as be rearranged to mimic muscle‐like actions and functions, such as a caterpillar locomotion robot and an entire robotic arm. The MAMs are fabricated through multilayer, multimaterial, low‐cost additive manufacturing, which offers certain advantages such as higher extension, contraction force, and durability. MAMs have the potential to provide a crucial fundamental building block toward future versatile reconfigurable architecture.

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4D Multimaterial Printing of Soft Actuators with Spatial and Temporal Control

Zhou,

Sun,

Wojciechowski

et al. 2024

Advanced Materials

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Soft actuators (SAs) are devices which can interact with delicate objects in a manner not achievable with traditional robotics. Whilst it is possible to design a soft actuator whose actuation is triggered via an external stimulus, the use of a single stimulus creates challenges in the spatial and temporal control of the actuation. One solution is to design soft actuators whose actuation requires the combination of stimuli (i.e., logic‐gate type actuation) to initiate the actuation event. Herein, we present a 4D printed multi‐material soft actuator design (MMSA) whose actuation is only initiated by a combination of triggers (i.e., pH and temperature). Using 3D printing, we designed a multi‐layered soft actuator with a hydrophilic pH sensitive layer, and a hydrophobic magnetic and temperature responsive shape memory polymer layer. The hydrogel responds to environmental pH conditions by swelling or shrinking, whilst the shape memory polymer can resist the shape deformation of the hydrogel until triggered by temperature or light. The combination of these stimuli responsive layers allows for a high level of spatial and temporal control of the actuation. We demonstrate the utility of the 4D MMSA via a series of cargo capture and release experiments, validating its ability to demonstrate active spatiotemporal control. The MMSA concept provides a promising research direction to develop multifunctional soft devices with potential applications in biomedical engineering and environmental engineering.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

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Compact Multilayer Extension Actuators for Reconfigurable Soft Robots

Cited by 7 publications

References 55 publications

An Amphibious Fully‐Soft Centimeter‐Scale Miniature Crawling Robot Powered by Electrohydraulic Fluid Kinetic Energy

An Amphibious Fully‐Soft Centimeter‐Scale Miniature Crawling Robot Powered by Electrohydraulic Fluid Kinetic Energy

Sarcomere‐Inspired Multilayer Artificial Muscle Units for Hyperconfigurable Robotic Applications

4D Multimaterial Printing of Soft Actuators with Spatial and Temporal Control

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