EELWORM: a bioinspired multimodal amphibious soft robot

Milana, Edoardo; Raemdonck, Bert Van; Cornelis, Kevin; Dehaerne, Enrique; Clerck, Jef De; Groof, Yarno De; Vil, Toon De; Gorissen, Benjamin; Reynaerts, Dominiek

doi:10.1109/robosoft48309.2020.9115989

Cited by 21 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Some are directed toward validating the theory behind cilia‐mediated fluid flow, both on the individual cilium [ 62,63 ] and collective system level. [ 64 ] To corroborate earlier findings from biology or computational models, these experimental setups attempt to recreate the Stoke's flow natural cilia operate at, mostly by working with similar Reynolds number which enables relaxation of the constraints on absolute cilia size. In contrast, the main focus of artificial cilia research is directed toward the development of microscopic devices, [ 65 ] whereby definition absolute size does matter.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Artificial Cilia–Bridging the Gap with Nature

Peerlinck

Milana

Smet

et al. 2023

Adv Funct Materials

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Human ingenuity has found a multitude of ways to manipulate fluids across different applications. However, the fundamentals of fluid propulsion change when moving from the macro‐ to the microscale. Viscous forces dominate inertial forces rendering successful methods at the macroscale ineffective for microscale fluid propulsion. Nature however has found a solution; microscopic active organelles protruding from cells that feature intricate beating patterns: cilia. Cilia succeed in propelling fluids at small dimensions; hence they have served as a source of inspiration for microfluidic applications. Mimicking biological cilia however remains challenging due to their small size and the required kinematic complexity. Recent advances have pushed artificial cilia technology forward, yet discrepancies with natural cilia still exists. This study identifies this gap by analyzing artificial cilia technology and benchmarking them to natural cilia, to pinpoint the remaining design and manufacturing challenges that lay at the basis of the disparity with nature.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Artificial Cilia–Bridging the Gap with Nature

Peerlinck

Milana

Smet

et al. 2023

Adv Funct Materials

Self Cite

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“…This robot exhibits superior performance on relative motion speed compared with other typical amphibious robots. [ 2 , 10 , 12 , 14 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 ] In particular, the relative terrestrial speed reaches to ≈10.9 BL s –1 , which shows the significant superiority of this design. The relative aquatic speed is ≈2.3 BL s –1 , which is not that fast as the terrestrial speed, but still better than most amphibious robots.…”

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Miniature Amphibious Robot Actuated by Rigid‐Flexible Hybrid Vibration Modules

et al. 2022

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Amphibious robots can undertake various tasks in terrestrial and aquatic environments for their superior environmental compatibility. However, the existing amphibious robots usually utilize multi-locomotion systems with transmission mechanisms, leading to complex and bulky structures. Here, a miniature amphibious robot based on vibration-driven locomotion mechanism is developed. The robot has two unique rigid-flexible hybrid modules (RFH-modules), in which a soft foot and a flexible fin are arranged on a rigid leg to conduct vibrations from an eccentric motor to the environment. Then, it can run on ground with the soft foot adopting the friction locomotion mechanism and swim on water with the flexible fin utilizing the vibration-induced flow mechanism. The robot is untethered with a compact size of 75 × 95 × 21 mm 3 and a small weight of 35 g owing to no transmission mechanism or joints. It realizes the maximum speed of 815 mm s -1 on ground and 171 mm s -1 on water. The robot, actuated by the RFH-modules based on vibration-driven locomotion mechanism, exhibits the merits of miniature structure and fast movements, indicating its great potential for applications in narrow amphibious environments.

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“…Rigid robot control tends to be more complex and requires multimodal sensory feedback to compensate for environmental interactions, while soft robots' compliance can simplify design and control [5]. There are several soft robot designs inspired by biologies, such as the Eelworm robot that can crawl and swim on land [6], and soft robotic snakes that are capable of accessing tight spaces where legged robots cannot [7]. However, legged robots have an advantage in navigating constrained or uneven terrain due to their ability to select contact points with their legs and utilize a variety of efficient gait patterns for different terrains, such as fast limb movements during the swing phase [8]- [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teleoperation of Soft Modular Robots: Study on Real-time Stability and Gait Control

Perera¹,

Arachchige²,

Mallikarachchi³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Soft robotics holds tremendous potential for various applications, especially in unstructured environments such as search and rescue operations. However, the lack of autonomy and teleoperability, limited capabilities, absence of gait diversity and real-time control, and onboard sensors to sense the surroundings are some of the common issues with soft-limbed robots. To overcome these limitations, we propose a spatially symmetric, topologically-stable, soft-limbed tetrahedral robot that can perform multiple locomotion gaits. We introduce a kinematic model, derive locomotion trajectories for different gaits, and design a teleoperation mechanism to enable realtime human-robot collaboration. We use the kinematic model to map teleoperation inputs and ensure smooth transitions between gaits. Additionally, we leverage the passive compliance and natural stability of the robot for toppling and obstacle navigation. Through experimental tests, we demonstrate the robot's ability to tackle various locomotion challenges, adapt to different situations, and navigate obstructed environments via teleoperation.

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EELWORM: a bioinspired multimodal amphibious soft robot

Cited by 21 publications

References 23 publications

Artificial Cilia–Bridging the Gap with Nature

Artificial Cilia–Bridging the Gap with Nature

Miniature Amphibious Robot Actuated by Rigid‐Flexible Hybrid Vibration Modules

Teleoperation of Soft Modular Robots: Study on Real-time Stability and Gait Control

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