Abstract:Soft robotics is of growing interest in the robot community as well as in public media, and there is an increase in the quality and quantity of publications related to this topic. To formally elaborate this growth, we have used a bibliometric analysis to evaluate the publications in the field from 1990 to 2017 based on the Science Citation Index Expanded database. We present a detailed overview and discussion based on keywords, citation, h-index, year, journal, institution, country, author, and review articles… Show more
“…The first appearance of soft robots can be dated back to the late 1980s [44,45]. Although work on soft robotics has been going on for about thirty years, a bibliometric analysis [46] shows that it has only become a popular topic in the most recent decade. For this reason, most of the on-board pneumatic pressure generation methods for the specific application in soft robotics are only found in the recent literature.…”
Section: Historical Retrospect Of the Presented Pressure Generation Mmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…NaN 3 → 2 Na + 3 N 2(46) and occurs at temperatures above 475 • C. At atmospheric pressure, the created sodium is liquid at these temperatures[31] and highly reactive; other chemical reactions may follow if suitable reactants like oxygen are available, but their influences are not discussed here.…”
The design and construction of a soft robot are challenging tasks on their own. When the robot is supposed to operate without a tether, it becomes even more demanding. While a tethered operation is sufficient for a stationary use, it is impractical for wearable robots or performing tasks that demand a high mobility. Choosing and implementing an on-board pneumatic pressure source are particularly complex tasks. There are several different pressure generation methods to choose from, each with very different properties and ways of implementation. This review paper is written with the intention of informing about all pressure generation methods available in the field of soft robotics and providing an overview of the abilities and properties of each method. Nine different methods are described regarding their working principle, pressure generation behavior, energetic considerations, safety aspects, and suitability for soft robotics applications. All presented methods are evaluated in the most important categories for soft robotics pressure sources and compared to each other qualitatively and quantitatively as far as possible. The aim of the results presented is to simplify the choice of a suitable pressure generation method when designing an on-board pressure source for a soft robot.
“…The first appearance of soft robots can be dated back to the late 1980s [44,45]. Although work on soft robotics has been going on for about thirty years, a bibliometric analysis [46] shows that it has only become a popular topic in the most recent decade. For this reason, most of the on-board pneumatic pressure generation methods for the specific application in soft robotics are only found in the recent literature.…”
Section: Historical Retrospect Of the Presented Pressure Generation Mmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…NaN 3 → 2 Na + 3 N 2(46) and occurs at temperatures above 475 • C. At atmospheric pressure, the created sodium is liquid at these temperatures[31] and highly reactive; other chemical reactions may follow if suitable reactants like oxygen are available, but their influences are not discussed here.…”
The design and construction of a soft robot are challenging tasks on their own. When the robot is supposed to operate without a tether, it becomes even more demanding. While a tethered operation is sufficient for a stationary use, it is impractical for wearable robots or performing tasks that demand a high mobility. Choosing and implementing an on-board pneumatic pressure source are particularly complex tasks. There are several different pressure generation methods to choose from, each with very different properties and ways of implementation. This review paper is written with the intention of informing about all pressure generation methods available in the field of soft robotics and providing an overview of the abilities and properties of each method. Nine different methods are described regarding their working principle, pressure generation behavior, energetic considerations, safety aspects, and suitability for soft robotics applications. All presented methods are evaluated in the most important categories for soft robotics pressure sources and compared to each other qualitatively and quantitatively as far as possible. The aim of the results presented is to simplify the choice of a suitable pressure generation method when designing an on-board pressure source for a soft robot.
“…In general we can expect to witness a revival of the old topic of allometry (West and Brown, 2004), derived from the development of quantitative biology research. Robotics is often bioinspired (Bao et al, 2018), but we might see new ideas coming from the opposite camp, nonhomothetic growth in symbiotic robotic systems (Levi and Kernbach, 2010).…”
Section: New Concepts In Symbiosis and Evolutionmentioning
“…Soft robots have demonstrated excellent advantages in terms of human-machine interaction, unstructured environment exploration, and bionic systems [1] . Composing of materials with Young's modulus in the order of 10 4 -10 9 Pa, they possess softness, body compliance, shape sensing, and power storage features [2,3] . There are basically two types of materials used for them: (1) Smart materials, including shape memory alloy (SMA), ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC), dielectric elastomers (DE) and responsive hydrogels, that can deform themselves under activation of physical fields or in specific chemical environments [4][5][6][7][8] ; (2) Traditional elastic materials, such as rubbers, plastics, and Ni-Ti alloys, that require additional fluid or cable mechanisms to exert actuating forces on their structures [9][10][11] .…”
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