Planar fabrication of a mesoscale voice coil actuator

Goldberg, Benjamin; Karpelson, Michael; Özcan, Onur; Wood, Robert J.

doi:10.1109/icra.2014.6907791

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…At the millimeter scale, a number of actuation techniques can be used to drive these mechanisms, including piezoelectric bending actuators [17], dielectric elastomer actuators [18], shape-memory alloy actuators [19], and electromagnetic actuators [20].…”

Section: Actuator Component Design and Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discretely assembled walking machines

Langford

2020

J Micro-Bio Robot

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We introduce a discrete approach to robotic construction that enables the integration of structure, mechanism, and actuation and offers a promising route to on-demand robot fabrication. We demonstrate this with the assembly of two centimeter-scale electromechanical systems: a Discretely Assembled Walking Motor (DAWM) capable of producing large scale linear or rotary motion from five millimeter-scale part types as well as a Modular Tiny Locomoting Element (MOTILE) that can locomote on a variety of ferrous surfaces. The five part types each embody a limited capability including rigid (strut and node), flexural, magnetic, or coil. Through their arrangement in a three-dimensional lattice, we demonstrate the assembly of actuated mechanical degrees-of-freedom in useful small-scale machines. This work extends prior research in discrete material systems with the inclusion of flexural and actuation components. Actuation is accomplished with the use of voice coil actuator components that produce up to 42 mN of force and strokes of 2 mm. This performance compares well with other millimeter scale actuators and provides sufficient force to lift 28 connected nodes in our assembled lattice, or 7 other actuator components. DAWM is capable of stepping at rates of up to 35 Hz, resulting in velocities of up to 25 mm/s. Multiple DAWM systems can be stacked to add force and can be driven in-phase or out-of-phase to produce intermittent or continuous force, respectively. MOTILE can climb vertical surfaces at speeds of 2.46 body-lengths per second, representing the fastest vertical climbing robot in recently reported research. This approach to robot fabrication discretizes robotic systems at a much finer granularity than prior work in modular robotics and demonstrates the possibility of assembling useful small-scale machines from a limited set of standard part types.

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Section: Actuator Component Design and Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discretely assembled walking machines

Langford

2020

J Micro-Bio Robot

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“…Scalable, high-performance actuation is of particular interest on the insect (i.e., millimeter) scale. Electromagnetic motors, which are ubiquitous in larger robots, are rigid, bulky, and relatively inefficient on the millimeter scale and are thus poorly suited to small-scale robots (Goldberg et al, 2014; Madou, 2002; Trimmer, 1989). In pursuit of actuators better suited to the millimeter scale, researchers have developed many types that hew more closely to the soft material properties of natural systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biologically inspired electrostatic artificial muscles for insect-sized robots

Wang

York

Chen

et al. 2021

The International Journal of Robotics Research

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Millimeter-sized electrostatic film actuators, inspired by the efficient spatial arrangement of insect muscles, achieve a muscle-like power density (61 W kg−1) and enable robotic applications in which agility is needed in confined spaces. Like biological muscles, these actuators incorporate a hierarchical structure, in this case building from electrodes to arrays to laminates, and are composed primarily of flexible materials. So comprised, these actuators can be designed for a wide range of manipulation and locomotion tasks, similar to natural muscle, while being robust and compact. A typical actuator can achieve 85 mN of force with a 15 mm stroke, with a size of [Formula: see text] mm3 and mass of 92 mg. Two millimeter-sized robots, an ultra-thin earthworm-inspired robot and an intestinal-muscle-inspired endoscopic tool for tissue resection, demonstrate the utility of these actuators. The earthworm robot undertakes inspection tasks: the navigation of a 5 mm channel and a 19 mm square tube while carrying an on-board camera. The surgical tool, which conforms to the surface of the distal end of an endoscope, similar to the thin, smooth muscle that covers the intestine, completes tissue cutting and penetrating tasks. Beyond these devices, we anticipate widespread use of these actuators in soft robots, medical robots, wearable robots, and miniature autonomous systems.

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“…Recent developments in small, lightweight, laminate robot fabrication [51] coupled with highbandwidth piezoelectric (PZT) actuation [52] have enabled new ground-based mobile robots capable of extremely high speeds relative to their body size [9,53]. The design and incorporation of flexure hinges that emulate revolute joints in laminate robots is relatively standardized [54], however generation of linear actuation motions within laminate robotics has been less explored and typically requires exceptional design considerations such as custom actuators [55] or new transmission mechanisms [56,57].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid two-anchor crawling from a milliscale prismatic-push–pull (3P) robot

Zhou

Gravish

2020

Bioinspir. Biomim.

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Many crawling organisms such as caterpillars and worms use a method of movement in which two or more anchor points alternately push and pull the body forward at a constant frequency. In this paper we present a milliscale push–pull robot which is capable of operating across a wide range of actuation frequencies thus enabling us to expand our understanding of two-anchor locomotion beyond the low-speed regime. We designed and fabricated a milliscale robot which uses anisotropic friction at two oscillating contact points to propel itself forward in a push–pull fashion. In experiments we varied the oscillation frequency, f, over a wide range (10–250 Hz) and observe a non-linear relationship between robot speed over this full frequency range. At low frequency (f < 100 Hz) forward speed increased linearly with frequency. However, at an intermediate push–pull frequency (f > 100 Hz) speed was relatively constant with increasing frequency. Lastly, at higher frequency (f > 170 Hz) the linear speed–frequency relationship returned. The speed–frequency relationship at low actuation frequencies is consistent with previously described two-anchor models and experiments in biology and robotics, however the higher frequency behavior is inconsistent with two-anchor frictional behavior. To understand the locomotion behavior of our system we first develop a deterministic two-anchor model in which contact forces are determined exactly from static or dynamic friction. Our experiments deviate from the model predictions, and through 3D kinematics measurements we confirm that ground contact is intermittent in robot locomotion at higher frequencies. By including probabilistic foot slipping behavior in the two-anchor friction model we are able to describe the three-regimes of robot locomotion.

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Planar fabrication of a mesoscale voice coil actuator

Cited by 12 publications

References 13 publications

Discretely assembled walking machines

Discretely assembled walking machines

Biologically inspired electrostatic artificial muscles for insect-sized robots

Rapid two-anchor crawling from a milliscale prismatic-push–pull (3P) robot

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