Pub Date : 2023-04-03DOI: 10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10121930
L. Arleo, Jasmine Pozzi, Niccolò Pagliarani, M. Cianchetti
Layer jamming and positive pressure jamming demonstrated great potential in soft robotic applications. The combination of these technologies can increase the performance of variable stiffness-oriented designs. Inspired by the shape of sea shell radial ribs, we introduce a planar lightweight device that can be easily adapted to different application scenarios, providing both significant stiffness variation and high load-bearing capabilities. Exploiting the ease of the system in terms of design and manufacturing, we tested the device with a different number of layers. It shows higher performances than standard layer jamming systems: in particular, the 1 layer per side version (7.5g) shows a variable stiffness ratio of 64:1 and a force required to reach a 10 mm deflection equal to 19N. The same values for the 5 layers per side version (17.2g) are 42.5:1 and 62N. These values are in line with the most promising innovative approaches reported in the literature on layer jamming. In addition, the presented results allow making a comparison between the introduced device and the biological counterpart in terms of performance, showing the validity of sea shells as a bioinspiration source for variable stiffness systems.
{"title":"Sea Shell Bioinspired Variable Stiffness Mechanism Enabled by Hybrid Jamming Transition","authors":"L. Arleo, Jasmine Pozzi, Niccolò Pagliarani, M. Cianchetti","doi":"10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10121930","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10121930","url":null,"abstract":"Layer jamming and positive pressure jamming demonstrated great potential in soft robotic applications. The combination of these technologies can increase the performance of variable stiffness-oriented designs. Inspired by the shape of sea shell radial ribs, we introduce a planar lightweight device that can be easily adapted to different application scenarios, providing both significant stiffness variation and high load-bearing capabilities. Exploiting the ease of the system in terms of design and manufacturing, we tested the device with a different number of layers. It shows higher performances than standard layer jamming systems: in particular, the 1 layer per side version (7.5g) shows a variable stiffness ratio of 64:1 and a force required to reach a 10 mm deflection equal to 19N. The same values for the 5 layers per side version (17.2g) are 42.5:1 and 62N. These values are in line with the most promising innovative approaches reported in the literature on layer jamming. In addition, the presented results allow making a comparison between the introduced device and the biological counterpart in terms of performance, showing the validity of sea shells as a bioinspiration source for variable stiffness systems.","PeriodicalId":250981,"journal":{"name":"2023 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)","volume":"93 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116477993","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-03DOI: 10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10121952
A. Bakır, Doğa Özbek, A. Abazari, Onur Özcan
Detection and control of the physical contact/impact between micro aerial vehicles and the surrounding obstacles have become a significant issue with the rapid growth of their use in inspection and mapping missions in confined, obstacle-cluttered environments. In this work, we introduce a collision-resilient compliant micro quadcopter equipped with soft coil-spring type force sensors to passively resist and detect the physical contact/impact of the drone. The sensors act as resistive elements with a nominal resistance of 130–150 kΩ. They are manufactured from a conductive material via FDM 3D printing. We install these sensors on the protective bumpers of the collision-resilient foldable body of the drone. Any contact/impact between the bumpers and an obstacle results in deformation and buckling of the soft sensors, which results in a drastic change in their resistance, making it possible to detect the contacts/impacts of the bumpers. With a total weight of 220g and dimensions of 22cmx22cmx9cm, SCoReR successfully detects and recovers 100% of the contacts/impacts when it approaches a rigid wall with a velocity in the range of [0.1-1] m/s.
{"title":"SCoReR: Sensorized Collision Resilient Aerial Robot","authors":"A. Bakır, Doğa Özbek, A. Abazari, Onur Özcan","doi":"10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10121952","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10121952","url":null,"abstract":"Detection and control of the physical contact/impact between micro aerial vehicles and the surrounding obstacles have become a significant issue with the rapid growth of their use in inspection and mapping missions in confined, obstacle-cluttered environments. In this work, we introduce a collision-resilient compliant micro quadcopter equipped with soft coil-spring type force sensors to passively resist and detect the physical contact/impact of the drone. The sensors act as resistive elements with a nominal resistance of 130–150 kΩ. They are manufactured from a conductive material via FDM 3D printing. We install these sensors on the protective bumpers of the collision-resilient foldable body of the drone. Any contact/impact between the bumpers and an obstacle results in deformation and buckling of the soft sensors, which results in a drastic change in their resistance, making it possible to detect the contacts/impacts of the bumpers. With a total weight of 220g and dimensions of 22cmx22cmx9cm, SCoReR successfully detects and recovers 100% of the contacts/impacts when it approaches a rigid wall with a velocity in the range of [0.1-1] m/s.","PeriodicalId":250981,"journal":{"name":"2023 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)","volume":"166 7 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125974567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-03DOI: 10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10122071
M. Grube, R. Seifried
Soft grippers are very popular for complex gripping tasks, as they can easily grip objects of different shapes. Also, usually they cannot damage gripped objects because of their inherent softness. Additionally, in contrast to rigid grippers no or only very little control effort is needed for the gripping process. However, also for soft grippers sensor feedback can help to improve the gripping process and thus expand the range of applications. Thereby, besides gripping force measurements, especially curvature measurements are of interest to reconstruct the deformation of the gripper. In this contribution, a soft three-finger-gripper with integrated optical shape sensor, based on curvature sensors, is presented. The shape sensor allows to control the gripping process and check if an object is gripped correctly.
{"title":"An Optical Shape Sensor for Integration in Soft Grippers","authors":"M. Grube, R. Seifried","doi":"10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10122071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10122071","url":null,"abstract":"Soft grippers are very popular for complex gripping tasks, as they can easily grip objects of different shapes. Also, usually they cannot damage gripped objects because of their inherent softness. Additionally, in contrast to rigid grippers no or only very little control effort is needed for the gripping process. However, also for soft grippers sensor feedback can help to improve the gripping process and thus expand the range of applications. Thereby, besides gripping force measurements, especially curvature measurements are of interest to reconstruct the deformation of the gripper. In this contribution, a soft three-finger-gripper with integrated optical shape sensor, based on curvature sensors, is presented. The shape sensor allows to control the gripping process and check if an object is gripped correctly.","PeriodicalId":250981,"journal":{"name":"2023 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127838839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-03DOI: 10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10121919
Kevin Wandke, Z. Y
Soft robots offer an exciting and novel alternative to traditional robots composed of rigid bodies. Many of the primary benefits soft robots have over more traditional robots result from their inherent compliance and their potential for low force interactions with their environments. Therefore, modeling soft robots requires the ability to accurately simulate contact mechanics. In this work, we present the solution of contact mechanics finite element problems specifically for soft robots in a MOOSE-based multiphysics simulation platform we developed, Kraken. The primary contributions of this work are threefold. Firstly, our implementations enable the modeling of additional types of contact critical to the simulation of soft robots. Next, we demonstrate how our new self contact method can be used to dramatically decrease the computational cost of contact modeling. Finally, we demonstrate the abilities of Kraken as a platform to simulate the complex interactions of soft robots and the environment.
{"title":"An Efficient Framework for the Solution of Contact Mechanics Problems in Soft Robotics","authors":"Kevin Wandke, Z. Y","doi":"10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10121919","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10121919","url":null,"abstract":"Soft robots offer an exciting and novel alternative to traditional robots composed of rigid bodies. Many of the primary benefits soft robots have over more traditional robots result from their inherent compliance and their potential for low force interactions with their environments. Therefore, modeling soft robots requires the ability to accurately simulate contact mechanics. In this work, we present the solution of contact mechanics finite element problems specifically for soft robots in a MOOSE-based multiphysics simulation platform we developed, Kraken. The primary contributions of this work are threefold. Firstly, our implementations enable the modeling of additional types of contact critical to the simulation of soft robots. Next, we demonstrate how our new self contact method can be used to dramatically decrease the computational cost of contact modeling. Finally, we demonstrate the abilities of Kraken as a platform to simulate the complex interactions of soft robots and the environment.","PeriodicalId":250981,"journal":{"name":"2023 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129164628","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-03DOI: 10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10122047
Max Bartholdt, Rebecca Berthold, M. Schappler
Controller design for continuum robots maintains to be a difficult task. Testing controllers requires dedicated work in manufacturing and investment into hardware as well as software, to acquire a test bench capable of performing dynamic control tasks. Typically, proprietary software for practical controller design such as Matlab/simulink is used but lacks specific implementations of soft material robots. This intermediate work presents the results of a toolchain to derive well-identified rod simulations. State-of-the-art methods to simulate the dynamics of continuum robots are integrated into an object-oriented implementation and wrapped into the Simulink framework. The generated S-function is capable of handling arbitrary, user-defined input such as pressure actuation or external tip forces as demonstrated in numerical examples. With application to a soft pneumatic actuator, stiffness parameters of a nonlinear hyperelastic material law are identified via finite element simulation and paired with heuristically identified damping parameters to perform dynamic simulation. To prove the general functionality of the simulation, a numerical example as well as a benchmark from literature is implemented and shown. A soft pneumatic actuator is used to generate validation data, which is in good accordance with the respective simulation output. The tool is provided as an open-source project****Code available under https://gitlab.com/soft_material_robotics/cosserat-rod-simulink-sfunction.
{"title":"Towards a Modular Framework for Visco-Hyperelastic Simulations of Soft Material Manipulators with Well-Parameterised Material","authors":"Max Bartholdt, Rebecca Berthold, M. Schappler","doi":"10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10122047","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10122047","url":null,"abstract":"Controller design for continuum robots maintains to be a difficult task. Testing controllers requires dedicated work in manufacturing and investment into hardware as well as software, to acquire a test bench capable of performing dynamic control tasks. Typically, proprietary software for practical controller design such as Matlab/simulink is used but lacks specific implementations of soft material robots. This intermediate work presents the results of a toolchain to derive well-identified rod simulations. State-of-the-art methods to simulate the dynamics of continuum robots are integrated into an object-oriented implementation and wrapped into the Simulink framework. The generated S-function is capable of handling arbitrary, user-defined input such as pressure actuation or external tip forces as demonstrated in numerical examples. With application to a soft pneumatic actuator, stiffness parameters of a nonlinear hyperelastic material law are identified via finite element simulation and paired with heuristically identified damping parameters to perform dynamic simulation. To prove the general functionality of the simulation, a numerical example as well as a benchmark from literature is implemented and shown. A soft pneumatic actuator is used to generate validation data, which is in good accordance with the respective simulation output. The tool is provided as an open-source project****Code available under https://gitlab.com/soft_material_robotics/cosserat-rod-simulink-sfunction.","PeriodicalId":250981,"journal":{"name":"2023 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130615682","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-03DOI: 10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10121971
Laurenz Elstner, Raquel Motzfeldt Tirach, E. Kyrkjebø, M. Stoelen
A Variable Stiffness Actuator (VSA) can vary the stiffness of a robot joint. Robots which use rigid links but soft joints like VSAs are known as articulated soft robots. The articulated soft robot arm in this paper uses an agonist/antagonist VSA setup with composite tendons made out of a soft material on the inside and an ideally non-elastic material on the outside. The outer material gradually aligns with the direction of the load, and compresses the inner soft material during extension. This provides a cheap and compact tendon that can be made to exhibit suitable spring characteristics for a VSA. The focus of the work presented here is to optimize the manufacturing process of these soft tendons through methodological tuning of parameters and the usage of off-the-shelf materials. The filament, outer sleeve and pulley configurations are modeled, and tensile testing used to provide data on the effect of different design parameters on the tendon properties. Soft tendons with an outer mesh sleeve that are easy to manufacture are implemented in a proof of concept experiment on the robot arm elbow joint. The results show that variable stiffness can be achieved with the proposed design but that the available outer sleeve is too flexible resulting in only a small range of stiffness levels. Several directions for improvement are identified.
{"title":"Comparing and Configuring Soft Tendon Designs for Variable Stiffness Actuators on a Robot Arm","authors":"Laurenz Elstner, Raquel Motzfeldt Tirach, E. Kyrkjebø, M. Stoelen","doi":"10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10121971","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10121971","url":null,"abstract":"A Variable Stiffness Actuator (VSA) can vary the stiffness of a robot joint. Robots which use rigid links but soft joints like VSAs are known as articulated soft robots. The articulated soft robot arm in this paper uses an agonist/antagonist VSA setup with composite tendons made out of a soft material on the inside and an ideally non-elastic material on the outside. The outer material gradually aligns with the direction of the load, and compresses the inner soft material during extension. This provides a cheap and compact tendon that can be made to exhibit suitable spring characteristics for a VSA. The focus of the work presented here is to optimize the manufacturing process of these soft tendons through methodological tuning of parameters and the usage of off-the-shelf materials. The filament, outer sleeve and pulley configurations are modeled, and tensile testing used to provide data on the effect of different design parameters on the tendon properties. Soft tendons with an outer mesh sleeve that are easy to manufacture are implemented in a proof of concept experiment on the robot arm elbow joint. The results show that variable stiffness can be achieved with the proposed design but that the available outer sleeve is too flexible resulting in only a small range of stiffness levels. Several directions for improvement are identified.","PeriodicalId":250981,"journal":{"name":"2023 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132045983","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-03DOI: 10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10121955
Lucrezia Lorenzon, Giulia Beccali, M. Cianchetti
In this work, we describe a soft robotic artificial heart ventricle whose novel pumping strategy is based on the programmable deformation of a fluid-containing and passive soft-shell. During pumping, the soft-shell collapses, showing the formation of inward folds that strongly contribute to the volumetric reduction of the soft-shell, thus to the pumping functionality. Our soft robotic artificial ventricle is a stand-alone system actuated by inverse pneumatic artificial muscles, that are arranged in a helical fashion around the soft-shell. We present a cable-driven soft pump as a study platform for preliminary investigation of the pumping strategy and the requirements for actuation. Three typologies of inverse pneumatic artificial muscles were fabricated and experimentally characterized as candidate actuators for the artificial ventricle. Finally, a ventricle prototype constituted by a soft-shell and an actuating system made of five inverse pneumatic actuators was designed and tested under physiologically relevant conditions of preload and afterload pressure. The experimental results demonstrated that our soft robotic artificial ventricle meets the functional requirements of a right heart ventricle operating in pulmonary circulation.
{"title":"A preliminary study on an innovative soft robotic artificial heart ventricle","authors":"Lucrezia Lorenzon, Giulia Beccali, M. Cianchetti","doi":"10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10121955","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10121955","url":null,"abstract":"In this work, we describe a soft robotic artificial heart ventricle whose novel pumping strategy is based on the programmable deformation of a fluid-containing and passive soft-shell. During pumping, the soft-shell collapses, showing the formation of inward folds that strongly contribute to the volumetric reduction of the soft-shell, thus to the pumping functionality. Our soft robotic artificial ventricle is a stand-alone system actuated by inverse pneumatic artificial muscles, that are arranged in a helical fashion around the soft-shell. We present a cable-driven soft pump as a study platform for preliminary investigation of the pumping strategy and the requirements for actuation. Three typologies of inverse pneumatic artificial muscles were fabricated and experimentally characterized as candidate actuators for the artificial ventricle. Finally, a ventricle prototype constituted by a soft-shell and an actuating system made of five inverse pneumatic actuators was designed and tested under physiologically relevant conditions of preload and afterload pressure. The experimental results demonstrated that our soft robotic artificial ventricle meets the functional requirements of a right heart ventricle operating in pulmonary circulation.","PeriodicalId":250981,"journal":{"name":"2023 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)","volume":"106 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124021844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-03DOI: 10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10122083
Wu-Te Yang, Hannah S. Stuart, M. Tomizuka
Soft pneumatic actuators are widely used for soft grippers, which are known for their compliance as compared with traditional grippers. The generated force/torque of soft pneumatic actuators directly determines the grasping force. This paper introduces a computationally efficient soft pneumatic actuator (SPA) design methodology. The complex structure of the pneumatic actuator is approximated by a cantilever beam. The relationship between input pressure and output torque is derived by standard mechanical analysis. The design problem is formulated as a model-based optimization problem by treating the input-output mathematical model as the objective function. By solving the optimization problem, the optimal design parameters are obtained. Finite element analysis is applied to preliminarily verify the design parameters without the time-consuming fabrication of many actuators. Three soft actuators with different design parameter sets were fabricated to validate the optimal parameters. This work shows the utility of surprisingly simple calculations and assumptions for rapid parametric design studies.
{"title":"Mechanical Modeling and Optimal Model-based Design of a Soft Pneumatic Actuator","authors":"Wu-Te Yang, Hannah S. Stuart, M. Tomizuka","doi":"10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10122083","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10122083","url":null,"abstract":"Soft pneumatic actuators are widely used for soft grippers, which are known for their compliance as compared with traditional grippers. The generated force/torque of soft pneumatic actuators directly determines the grasping force. This paper introduces a computationally efficient soft pneumatic actuator (SPA) design methodology. The complex structure of the pneumatic actuator is approximated by a cantilever beam. The relationship between input pressure and output torque is derived by standard mechanical analysis. The design problem is formulated as a model-based optimization problem by treating the input-output mathematical model as the objective function. By solving the optimization problem, the optimal design parameters are obtained. Finite element analysis is applied to preliminarily verify the design parameters without the time-consuming fabrication of many actuators. Three soft actuators with different design parameter sets were fabricated to validate the optimal parameters. This work shows the utility of surprisingly simple calculations and assumptions for rapid parametric design studies.","PeriodicalId":250981,"journal":{"name":"2023 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)","volume":"93 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121292130","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-03DOI: 10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10122052
David Hardman, Ryman Hashem, F. Iida
As the task-complexities demanded of soft robots continue to increase, so too does the need for soft sensorized skins which can provide complex tactile feedback. Here we consider the detection of asymmetric deformations by designing and validating an easy-to-fabricate hydrogel-silicone composite sensor for deployment in an underactuated soft robotic manipulator. For proprioception and exteroception, this skin can sense asymmetric bifurcations in a stretchable skin without affecting functionality. Our method facilitates the sensor's use in a wide range of soft robotic actuators: we present its ability to respond to repeated, incremental, and oscillating stimuli in the soft manipulator, and demonstrate its ease of integration into a closed-loop control system. We experimentally find the sensors capable of withstanding over 200% strain before the onset of delamination.
{"title":"Composite Stretchable Sensors for the Detection of Asymmetric Deformations in a Soft Manipulator","authors":"David Hardman, Ryman Hashem, F. Iida","doi":"10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10122052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10122052","url":null,"abstract":"As the task-complexities demanded of soft robots continue to increase, so too does the need for soft sensorized skins which can provide complex tactile feedback. Here we consider the detection of asymmetric deformations by designing and validating an easy-to-fabricate hydrogel-silicone composite sensor for deployment in an underactuated soft robotic manipulator. For proprioception and exteroception, this skin can sense asymmetric bifurcations in a stretchable skin without affecting functionality. Our method facilitates the sensor's use in a wide range of soft robotic actuators: we present its ability to respond to repeated, incremental, and oscillating stimuli in the soft manipulator, and demonstrate its ease of integration into a closed-loop control system. We experimentally find the sensors capable of withstanding over 200% strain before the onset of delamination.","PeriodicalId":250981,"journal":{"name":"2023 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)","volume":"20 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125988063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-03DOI: 10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10122076
Camilla Agabiti, Etienne Ménager, E. Falotico
In this work, we present a whole-arm grasping strategy for soft arms whose task is to capture space debris. The non-cooperative nature of space debris and the characteristics of the space environment enforce high-level requirements for robotic arms, especially dexterity. Taking inspiration from the outstanding capabilities of the elephant trunk in grasping, we formulated a grasping strategy based upon the identification of contact points on the object to force the bending of the arm and induce the wrapping around the object, as the animal model does. This strategy is implemented by leveraging on coupled Finite Element simulations of a trunk-like soft arm and Reinforcement Learning tools to learn the grasping. The results show that the robot successfully learns the task by moving the proximal part closer to the object and using the distal one to wrap around the object. We show that the obtained policy is valid for diverse object sizes and positions. Our grasping strategy is the first example of bio-inspired whole-arm grasping for a soft arm in space. We believe that, in the near future, this strategy will enable new grasping capabilities in soft arms.
{"title":"Whole-arm Grasping Strategy for Soft Arms to Capture Space Debris","authors":"Camilla Agabiti, Etienne Ménager, E. Falotico","doi":"10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10122076","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10122076","url":null,"abstract":"In this work, we present a whole-arm grasping strategy for soft arms whose task is to capture space debris. The non-cooperative nature of space debris and the characteristics of the space environment enforce high-level requirements for robotic arms, especially dexterity. Taking inspiration from the outstanding capabilities of the elephant trunk in grasping, we formulated a grasping strategy based upon the identification of contact points on the object to force the bending of the arm and induce the wrapping around the object, as the animal model does. This strategy is implemented by leveraging on coupled Finite Element simulations of a trunk-like soft arm and Reinforcement Learning tools to learn the grasping. The results show that the robot successfully learns the task by moving the proximal part closer to the object and using the distal one to wrap around the object. We show that the obtained policy is valid for diverse object sizes and positions. Our grasping strategy is the first example of bio-inspired whole-arm grasping for a soft arm in space. We believe that, in the near future, this strategy will enable new grasping capabilities in soft arms.","PeriodicalId":250981,"journal":{"name":"2023 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)","volume":"47 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125019284","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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