Safety is the most important factor in collaborative robots. With the application of collaborative robots in increasingly complex scenarios, the reliability of collaborative robots faces serious challenges when performing complex actions. Variable stiffness drives are widely valued for their adequate safety. In this paper, an origami-inspired variable stiffness actuator (OVSA) is proposed, which draws on the principle of origami and uses torsion springs and hinge fixed points to form a variable polygon structure as a special elastic component. It has a lightweight and compact structure and can theoretically achieve stiffness range from zero to infinity. The use of Archimedean Spiral Cam (ASC) as the transmission element for stiffness transformation further increases the compactness of the structure, while maintaining stiffness with very little torque, improving energy efficiency. The stiffness equation of OVSA is verified by experiments, and the results show that its stiffness is high when the deflection angle is close to zero degrees and decreases rapidly with the increase of deflection angle, which makes it have sufficient safety and energy storage capacity.
{"title":"Origami-inspired Variable Stiffness actuator for Safe Human-Robot Interaction","authors":"Bowen Zheng, Pengpeng Xu, Zhaoqi Guo, Longhan Xie","doi":"10.1115/1.4062499","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4062499","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Safety is the most important factor in collaborative robots. With the application of collaborative robots in increasingly complex scenarios, the reliability of collaborative robots faces serious challenges when performing complex actions. Variable stiffness drives are widely valued for their adequate safety. In this paper, an origami-inspired variable stiffness actuator (OVSA) is proposed, which draws on the principle of origami and uses torsion springs and hinge fixed points to form a variable polygon structure as a special elastic component. It has a lightweight and compact structure and can theoretically achieve stiffness range from zero to infinity. The use of Archimedean Spiral Cam (ASC) as the transmission element for stiffness transformation further increases the compactness of the structure, while maintaining stiffness with very little torque, improving energy efficiency. The stiffness equation of OVSA is verified by experiments, and the results show that its stiffness is high when the deflection angle is close to zero degrees and decreases rapidly with the increase of deflection angle, which makes it have sufficient safety and energy storage capacity.","PeriodicalId":49155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47477990","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kunyang Wang, Harry Williams, Z. Qian, G. Wei, Haohua Xiu, W. Chen, Xuewei Lu, Jianqiao Jin, L. Ren, Wei Liang, Luquan Ren
Limb loss affects many people from a variety of backgrounds around the world. The most advanced commercially available prostheses for transfemoral amputees are fully active (powered) designs but remain very expensive and unavailable in the developing world. Consequently, improvements of low-cost, passive prostheses have been made to provide high quality rehabilitation to amputees of any background. This study explores the design and evaluation of a smooth-locking-based bionic knee joint to replicate the swing phase of the human gait cycle. The two-part design was based on the condyle geometry of the interface between the femur and tibia obtained from MR images of the human subject, while springs were used to replace the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments. A flexible four-bar linkage mechanism was successfully achieved to provide not only rotation along a variable instantaneous axis but also slight translation in the sagittal plane, similar to the anatomical knee. We systematically evaluated the effects of different spring configurations in terms of stiffness, position and relaxion length on knee flexion angles during walking. A good replication of the swing phase was achieved by relatively high stiffness and increased relaxation length of springs. The stance phase of the gait cycle was improved compared to some models but remained relatively flat, where further verification should be conducted. In addition, 3D printing technique provides a convenient design and manufacturing process, making the prosthesis customizable for different individuals based on subject-specific modelling of the amputee's knee.
{"title":"Design and Evaluation of a Smooth-Locking-Based Customizable Prosthetic Knee Joint","authors":"Kunyang Wang, Harry Williams, Z. Qian, G. Wei, Haohua Xiu, W. Chen, Xuewei Lu, Jianqiao Jin, L. Ren, Wei Liang, Luquan Ren","doi":"10.1115/1.4062498","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4062498","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Limb loss affects many people from a variety of backgrounds around the world. The most advanced commercially available prostheses for transfemoral amputees are fully active (powered) designs but remain very expensive and unavailable in the developing world. Consequently, improvements of low-cost, passive prostheses have been made to provide high quality rehabilitation to amputees of any background. This study explores the design and evaluation of a smooth-locking-based bionic knee joint to replicate the swing phase of the human gait cycle. The two-part design was based on the condyle geometry of the interface between the femur and tibia obtained from MR images of the human subject, while springs were used to replace the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments. A flexible four-bar linkage mechanism was successfully achieved to provide not only rotation along a variable instantaneous axis but also slight translation in the sagittal plane, similar to the anatomical knee. We systematically evaluated the effects of different spring configurations in terms of stiffness, position and relaxion length on knee flexion angles during walking. A good replication of the swing phase was achieved by relatively high stiffness and increased relaxation length of springs. The stance phase of the gait cycle was improved compared to some models but remained relatively flat, where further verification should be conducted. In addition, 3D printing technique provides a convenient design and manufacturing process, making the prosthesis customizable for different individuals based on subject-specific modelling of the amputee's knee.","PeriodicalId":49155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49541582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wenjie Wang, Jie Wang, Congcong Chen, Yang Luo, Xiaohua Wang, Lingtao Yu
As the micromanipulator of surgical robots works in a narrow space, it is difficult to install any position sensors at the end, so the position control and position detection cannot be accurately performed. A position estimator based on the parameter autonomous selection model is proposed to estimate the end position indirectly. Firstly, a single joint principle prototype and a position estimator model are established through the 4-Dof driving scheme of the micromanipulator and the cable-driven model. Secondly, the proposed parameter change model is combined with the parameter selection method to form a parameter autonomous selection model. Finally, a position estimator based on the parameter autonomous selection model is established. The experimental results show the maximum estimation error of the position estimator is 0.1928°. Compared with other position estimation methods, the position estimator proposed in this paper has higher accuracy and better robustness, which lays a foundation for the full closed-loop control of micromanipulator position.
{"title":"Design of position estimator for rope driven Micromanipulator of surgical robot based on parameter autonomous selection model","authors":"Wenjie Wang, Jie Wang, Congcong Chen, Yang Luo, Xiaohua Wang, Lingtao Yu","doi":"10.1115/1.4062464","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4062464","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 As the micromanipulator of surgical robots works in a narrow space, it is difficult to install any position sensors at the end, so the position control and position detection cannot be accurately performed. A position estimator based on the parameter autonomous selection model is proposed to estimate the end position indirectly. Firstly, a single joint principle prototype and a position estimator model are established through the 4-Dof driving scheme of the micromanipulator and the cable-driven model. Secondly, the proposed parameter change model is combined with the parameter selection method to form a parameter autonomous selection model. Finally, a position estimator based on the parameter autonomous selection model is established. The experimental results show the maximum estimation error of the position estimator is 0.1928°. Compared with other position estimation methods, the position estimator proposed in this paper has higher accuracy and better robustness, which lays a foundation for the full closed-loop control of micromanipulator position.","PeriodicalId":49155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45258564","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Revanth Konda, David Bombara, Ember Chow, Jun Zhang
Realizing high-performance soft robots is challenging because many existing soft or compliant actuators exhibit limitations like fabrication complexity, high power requirement, slow actuation, and low force generation. Due to their high force output and power efficiency, compactness, and simplicity in fabrication, twisted string actuators (TSAs) have exhibited strong potential in mechatronic and robotic applications. However, they have had limited uses in soft robotics. Consequently, modeling and control of TSA-driven soft robots have not been sufficiently studied. This paper presents the first study on the modeling and control of a TSA-driven soft robot manipulator. A physics-based model was developed to predict the manipulator's kinematic motion. An inverse model was derived to realize open-loop control. Models which describe the behavior of TSAs were utilized in a novel way to develop the proposed kinematic and inverse mod- els of the soft robot. The proposed modeling and control approaches were experimentally verified to be effective. For example, the modeling and control errors of the bending angle were 1.60°(3.11%) and 2.11°(3.68%), respectively.
{"title":"Kinematic Modeling and Open-Loop Control of A Twisted String Actuator-Driven Soft Robotic Manipulator","authors":"Revanth Konda, David Bombara, Ember Chow, Jun Zhang","doi":"10.1115/1.4062466","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4062466","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Realizing high-performance soft robots is challenging because many existing soft or compliant actuators exhibit limitations like fabrication complexity, high power requirement, slow actuation, and low force generation. Due to their high force output and power efficiency, compactness, and simplicity in fabrication, twisted string actuators (TSAs) have exhibited strong potential in mechatronic and robotic applications. However, they have had limited uses in soft robotics. Consequently, modeling and control of TSA-driven soft robots have not been sufficiently studied. This paper presents the first study on the modeling and control of a TSA-driven soft robot manipulator. A physics-based model was developed to predict the manipulator's kinematic motion. An inverse model was derived to realize open-loop control. Models which describe the behavior of TSAs were utilized in a novel way to develop the proposed kinematic and inverse mod- els of the soft robot. The proposed modeling and control approaches were experimentally verified to be effective. For example, the modeling and control errors of the bending angle were 1.60°(3.11%) and 2.11°(3.68%), respectively.","PeriodicalId":49155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44112316","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract' This paper introduces for the first time, the Lagrange's dynamic equations in dual number quaternion form. Additionally, Rayleigh's dissipation function in dual quaternion form is introduced here allowing for the accounting of dissipative (non-conservative) forces such as motion through a viscous fluid, friction, and spring damping force. As an example, dual quaternions are used here to derive the Lagrange dynamic equations of a robot manipulator.
{"title":"Dual Quaternions Representation of Lagrange's dynamic equations","authors":"A. Cohen, Benjamin Taub, M. Shoham","doi":"10.1115/1.4062463","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4062463","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract' This paper introduces for the first time, the Lagrange's dynamic equations in dual number quaternion form. Additionally, Rayleigh's dissipation function in dual quaternion form is introduced here allowing for the accounting of dissipative (non-conservative) forces such as motion through a viscous fluid, friction, and spring damping force. As an example, dual quaternions are used here to derive the Lagrange dynamic equations of a robot manipulator.","PeriodicalId":49155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49601483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Andreas Mueller, J. Kovecses, Charles J. Kim, C. Padmanabhan, G. Orosz
{"title":"Joint Special Issue on “Design and Control of Responsive Robots”","authors":"Andreas Mueller, J. Kovecses, Charles J. Kim, C. Padmanabhan, G. Orosz","doi":"10.1115/1.4062417","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4062417","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42265640","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Energy-efficient gaits in walking robots can be obtained by designing elastic systems that exhibit naturally emerging locomotion patterns. Biological legged locomotion serves as inspiration, as animals use different gaits to move at certain speeds while minimizing energy consumption. To understand the underlying dynamics of biological locomotion, simplified models have been proposed. The most common one, the SLIP (Spring Loaded Inverted Pendulum) model, can explain the effect of the radial elasticity of linear legs and helps to explain locomotion patterns, especially for running behaviors, in different legged systems. Unfortunately, the SLIP model is inappropriate for the study of stability of limit cycles in systems with articulated legs, which are most commonly used in real robots. This paper introduces a novel quadrupedal template model featuring articulated elastic legs, non-constant leg stiffness, and dynamic leg swing. Numerical simulation with a continuation approach is used to discover the gaits emerging from the natural dynamics of the model, without imposing any contact sequence a priori. The stability of those gaits is also characterized, in order to facilitate the exploitation of the natural model dynamics for generating locomotion patterns for quadrupedal robots
{"title":"Emerging Gaits for a Quadrupedal Template Model with Segmented Legs","authors":"Lorenzo Boffa, Anna Sesselmann, M. Roa","doi":"10.1115/1.4062388","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4062388","url":null,"abstract":"Energy-efficient gaits in walking robots can be obtained by designing elastic systems that exhibit naturally emerging locomotion patterns. Biological legged locomotion serves as inspiration, as animals use different gaits to move at certain speeds while minimizing energy consumption. To understand the underlying dynamics of biological locomotion, simplified models have been proposed. The most common one, the SLIP (Spring Loaded Inverted Pendulum) model, can explain the effect of the radial elasticity of linear legs and helps to explain locomotion patterns, especially for running behaviors, in different legged systems. Unfortunately, the SLIP model is inappropriate for the study of stability of limit cycles in systems with articulated legs, which are most commonly used in real robots. This paper introduces a novel quadrupedal template model featuring articulated elastic legs, non-constant leg stiffness, and dynamic leg swing. Numerical simulation with a continuation approach is used to discover the gaits emerging from the natural dynamics of the model, without imposing any contact sequence a priori. The stability of those gaits is also characterized, in order to facilitate the exploitation of the natural model dynamics for generating locomotion patterns for quadrupedal robots","PeriodicalId":49155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43658048","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marios Vasileiou, N. Manos, Nikos Vasilopoulos, Anastasia Douma, E. Kavallieratou
In fish farms a major issue is the net cage wear, resulting in fish escapes and negative impact of fish quality, due to holes and biofouling of the nets. To minimize fish losses, fisheries utilize divers to inspect net cages on a weekly basis. Aquaculture companies are looking for ways to maximize profit and reduce maintenance costs is one of them. Kefalonia Fisheries spend 250 thousand euros yearly on diver expenses for net cages maintenance. This work is about the design, fabrication, and control of an inexpensive autonomous underwater vehicle intended for inspection in net cages at Kefalonia Fisheries S.A. in Greece. Its main body is 3D-printed, and its eight-thruster configuration grants it six degrees of freedom. The main objective of the vehicle is to limit maintenance costs by increasing inspection frequency. The design, fabrication as well as the electronics and software architecture of the vehicle are presented. In addition, the forces affecting Kalypso, mobility realization, navigation, and modeling are quoted along with a flow simulation and the experimental results. The proposed design is adaptable and durable while remaining cost effective, and it can be used for both manual and automatic operations.
{"title":"Kalypso AUV: A 3D-printed Underwater vehicle for inspection at Fisheries","authors":"Marios Vasileiou, N. Manos, Nikos Vasilopoulos, Anastasia Douma, E. Kavallieratou","doi":"10.1115/1.4062355","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4062355","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 In fish farms a major issue is the net cage wear, resulting in fish escapes and negative impact of fish quality, due to holes and biofouling of the nets. To minimize fish losses, fisheries utilize divers to inspect net cages on a weekly basis. Aquaculture companies are looking for ways to maximize profit and reduce maintenance costs is one of them. Kefalonia Fisheries spend 250 thousand euros yearly on diver expenses for net cages maintenance. This work is about the design, fabrication, and control of an inexpensive autonomous underwater vehicle intended for inspection in net cages at Kefalonia Fisheries S.A. in Greece. Its main body is 3D-printed, and its eight-thruster configuration grants it six degrees of freedom. The main objective of the vehicle is to limit maintenance costs by increasing inspection frequency. The design, fabrication as well as the electronics and software architecture of the vehicle are presented. In addition, the forces affecting Kalypso, mobility realization, navigation, and modeling are quoted along with a flow simulation and the experimental results. The proposed design is adaptable and durable while remaining cost effective, and it can be used for both manual and automatic operations.","PeriodicalId":49155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48464144","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Calculating the maximum obstacle-crossing ability accurately in the mechanism design stage can better ensure that the manufactured robot prototype meets the predefined indices. The obstacle-crossing task of the legged robot is achieved by the collaborative movement of the leg and body. The reachable workspace constrains the spatial movement boundary of the foot tip and the robot body. The reachable workspace of the foot tip is invariant, while the shape and volume of the reachable body workspace vary with the supporting footholds. The body movement is modeled as a six-bar mechanism, and the reachable body workspace means the reachable workspace of the specified target point located on the moving platform of the six-bar mechanism. Unlike the previous work, the analytical method of calculating the reachable body workspace for the target point outside the moving platform named the external target point is studied. The influence of supporting footholds and shank-ground interference on the reachable body workspace is considered. The selection of supporting footholds, the collaborative motion sequences of the robot body and legs, and the determination of the maximum ability for crossing a ditch and climbing a step are demonstrated for implementing the analytical reachable body workspace. Finally, simulations corroborate the correctness of the theoretical analysis.
{"title":"Implementing the analytical reachable body workspace for calculating the obstacle-crossing ability of a hexapod robot","authors":"Chenkun Qi, Huayang Li, F. Gao, Xianbao Chen, Yue Zhao, Zhijun Chen","doi":"10.1115/1.4062353","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4062353","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Calculating the maximum obstacle-crossing ability accurately in the mechanism design stage can better ensure that the manufactured robot prototype meets the predefined indices. The obstacle-crossing task of the legged robot is achieved by the collaborative movement of the leg and body. The reachable workspace constrains the spatial movement boundary of the foot tip and the robot body. The reachable workspace of the foot tip is invariant, while the shape and volume of the reachable body workspace vary with the supporting footholds. The body movement is modeled as a six-bar mechanism, and the reachable body workspace means the reachable workspace of the specified target point located on the moving platform of the six-bar mechanism. Unlike the previous work, the analytical method of calculating the reachable body workspace for the target point outside the moving platform named the external target point is studied. The influence of supporting footholds and shank-ground interference on the reachable body workspace is considered. The selection of supporting footholds, the collaborative motion sequences of the robot body and legs, and the determination of the maximum ability for crossing a ditch and climbing a step are demonstrated for implementing the analytical reachable body workspace. Finally, simulations corroborate the correctness of the theoretical analysis.","PeriodicalId":49155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46234043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Conventional mobile robots have difficulty navigating highly unstructured spaces such as caves and forests. In these environments, a highly extendable limb could be useful for deploying hooks to climb over terrain, or for reaching hard-to-access sites for sample collection. This article details a new form of a multimodal mobile robot that utilizes a novel tape spring limb named EEMMMa (elastic extending mechanism for mobility and manipulation). Its innovative U-shaped tape structure allows it to handle loads in tension as well as compression. It can also bend using mechanical multiplexing for a lightweight and compact design that is well suited for mobile robots. For mobility, the limb can extend prismatically to deploy grappling hook anchors to suspend and transport the main body, or even serve as legs. For manipulation, the limb can morph its shape to bend around or over obstacles, allowing it to retrieve distant objects or position cameras around corners. The EEMMMa-1 prototype detailed in this article successfully demonstrates climbing ladders and shelves in 1.5 body lengths per second, and can bend up to 100 deg. A simplified model of the bending kinematics is developed and analyzed. This article concludes by detailing future EEMMMa applications and theories to strengthen the model in future studies.
{"title":"Flexible Long-Reach Robotic Limbs Using Tape Springs for Mobility and Manipulation","authors":"Justin Quan, Dennis W. Hong","doi":"10.1115/1.4062150","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4062150","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Conventional mobile robots have difficulty navigating highly unstructured spaces such as caves and forests. In these environments, a highly extendable limb could be useful for deploying hooks to climb over terrain, or for reaching hard-to-access sites for sample collection. This article details a new form of a multimodal mobile robot that utilizes a novel tape spring limb named EEMMMa (elastic extending mechanism for mobility and manipulation). Its innovative U-shaped tape structure allows it to handle loads in tension as well as compression. It can also bend using mechanical multiplexing for a lightweight and compact design that is well suited for mobile robots. For mobility, the limb can extend prismatically to deploy grappling hook anchors to suspend and transport the main body, or even serve as legs. For manipulation, the limb can morph its shape to bend around or over obstacles, allowing it to retrieve distant objects or position cameras around corners. The EEMMMa-1 prototype detailed in this article successfully demonstrates climbing ladders and shelves in 1.5 body lengths per second, and can bend up to 100 deg. A simplified model of the bending kinematics is developed and analyzed. This article concludes by detailing future EEMMMa applications and theories to strengthen the model in future studies.","PeriodicalId":49155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics-Transactions of the Asme","volume":"18 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135861832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}