Design and control of a ray-mimicking soft robot based on morphological features for adaptive deformation

Urai, Kenji; Sawada, Risa; Hiasa, Natsuki; Yokota, Masashi; DallaLibera, Fabio

doi:10.1007/s10015-015-0216-y

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 14 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…Recently, many different kinds of flexible biomimetic fin-propelled underwater robots have been developed to achieve underwater tasks, such as understanding marine life, seabed resource exploration, and environmental conservation. The commonly used methods for actuating underwater robots are motor-driven mechanisms, 25 fluidic elastomer actuators (pneumatic and hydraulic), 26,27 and smart materials. 28 Instead of developing biomimetic fins, two different kinds of underwater rolling robots based on the concept of actuator 3W and propelled by buoyancy are presented.…”

Section: Applications In Roboticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and Fabrication of a Low-Cost Silicone and Water-Based Soft Actuator with a High Load-to-Weight Ratio

Sun

2021

Soft Robotics

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Traditional actuators, such as motors as well as hydraulic or pneumatic artificial muscles, demonstrate excessive noise, a heavy weight, and a large size, which limit their practical application in many areas. Therefore, for many decades, scientists have worked to develop new types of silent, small, and light actuators. In this article, a novel soft actuator (actuator 3 ) with a high load-to-weight ratio from silicone and a low-boiling liquid (ethanol: actuator 3E or water: actuator 3W ) is presented and is compared with two actuators (actuator 1 and actuator 2 ) fabricated according to a method described in the literature. Compared with actuator 1 and actuator 2 , actuator 3 shows a larger volume expansion, output force, and load-to-weight ratio when heated. Owing to the weaker stability and repeatability of actuator 3E , many different kinds of applications based on actuator 3W are proposed, such as robotic hands and underwater rolling robots with color variations. The experimental results demonstrate that the method proposed in this article may be a viable alternative for fabricating low-cost soft actuators with high load-to-weight ratios that can be useful for future applications of soft robots.

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Section: Applications In Roboticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and Fabrication of a Low-Cost Silicone and Water-Based Soft Actuator with a High Load-to-Weight Ratio

Sun

2021

Soft Robotics

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“…In this study, we validate our hypothesis through development of stingray robots with embedded cartilage structure. To the best of our knowledge, no study on the incorporation of cartilages has been reported, even though numerous stingray-like robots have been developed 42 – 51 . Our robots consist of silicone elastomers with the different bulk stiffness that represent soft tissue and cartilages.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cartilage structure increases swimming efficiency of underwater robots

Yurugi

SHIMANOKAMI

Nagai

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Underwater robots are useful for exploring valuable resources and marine life. Traditional underwater robots use screw propellers, which may be harmful to marine life. In contrast, robots that incorporate the swimming principles, morphologies, and softness of aquatic animals are expected to be more adaptable to the surrounding environment. Rajiform is one of the swimming forms observed in nature, which swims by generating the traveling waves on flat large pectoral fins. From an anatomical point of view, Rajiform fins consist of cartilage structures encapsulated in soft tissue, thereby realizing anisotropic stiffness. We hypothesized that such anisotropy is responsible for the generation of traveling waves that enable a highly efficient swimming. We validate our hypothesis through the development of a stingray robot made of silicone-based cartilages and soft tissue. For comparison, we fabricate a robot without cartilages, as well as the one combining soft tissue and cartilage materials. The fabricated robots are tested to clarify their stiffness and swimming performance. The results show that inclusion of cartilage structure in the robot fins increases the swimming efficiency. It is suggested that arrangement and distribution of soft and hard areas inside the body structure is a key factor to realize high-performance soft underwater robots.

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“…In this study, we validate our hypothesis through development of stingray robots with embedded cartilages. To the best of our knowledge, no study on the incorporation of cartilages has been reported, even though numerous stingray-like robots have been developed [42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]. Our robots consist of silicone elastomers with the different Young's modulus that represent soft tissue and cartilages.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cartilage Increases Swimming Efficiency of Underwater Robots

Yurugi¹,

Nagai²,

Shintake³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Underwater robots are useful for exploring valuable resources and marine life. Traditional underwater robots use screw propellers, which may be harmful to marine life. In contrast, robots that incorporate the swimming principles, morphologies, and softness of aquatic animals are expected to be more adaptable to the surrounding environment. Rajiform is one of the swimming forms observed in nature, which swims by generating the traveling waves on flat large pectoral fins. From an anatomical point of view, Rajiform fins consist of cartilages encapsulated in soft tissue, thereby realizing anisotropic stiffness. We hypothesized that such anisotropy is responsible for the generation of traveling waves that enable a highly efficient swimming. We validate our hypothesis through the development of a stingray robot made of silicone-based cartilages and soft tissue. For comparison, we fabricate a robot without cartilages, as well as the one combining soft tissue and cartilage materials. The fabricated robots are tested to clarify their stiffness and swimming performance. The results show that inclusion of cartilages in the robot fins increases the swimming efficiency. It is suggested that arrangement and distribution of soft and hard areas inside the body structure is a key factor to realize high-performance soft underwater robots.

show abstract

Design and control of a ray-mimicking soft robot based on morphological features for adaptive deformation

Cited by 14 publications

References 14 publications

Design and Fabrication of a Low-Cost Silicone and Water-Based Soft Actuator with a High Load-to-Weight Ratio

Design and Fabrication of a Low-Cost Silicone and Water-Based Soft Actuator with a High Load-to-Weight Ratio

Cartilage structure increases swimming efficiency of underwater robots

Cartilage Increases Swimming Efficiency of Underwater Robots

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