Utilizing the Peltier effect for actuation of thermo-active soft robots
Utilizing the Peltier effect for actuation of thermo-active soft robots
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DOI：
10.1088/1361-665x/ace225
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发表时间：
2023-06
影响因子：
4.1
通讯作者：
Trevor Exley;Daniel Johnson;A. Jafari
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Trevor Exley;Daniel Johnson;A. Jafari
由于材料和柔性结构的适应性，机器人领域的软驱动方法正在迅速发展，并有望实现人与机器人之间的物理交互。在这些方法中，热响应型软执行器特别独特，因为它们不需要固定的泵、高压电源或遥远的磁场，因此确保了便携性。然而，由于这些执行器的工作原理是基于焦耳加热，系统效率低且速度极慢，特别是由于其被动冷却过程。本文提出利用Peltier效应作为热作动器的可逆加热/冷却机制，以实现更快的变形、更有效的传热和主动冷却。所提出的致动器由一层充满相变流体的弹性薄膜组成，相变流体在加热时会蒸发，从而产生大变形。这种膜被放置在编织网中，形成麦基本肌肉，在60 S加热后，麦基本肌肉可以举起5N，并进一步形成能够操纵环境中物体的抓手。验证了所提出的执行器的有效性，并讨论了其在各个领域的潜在应用。
The field of soft actuation methods in robotics is rapidly advancing and holds promise for physical interactions between humans and robots due to the adaptability of materials and compliant structures. Among these methods, thermally-responsive soft actuators are particularly unique, ensuring portability as they do not require stationary pumps, or high voltage sources, or remote magnetic field. However, since working principles of these actuators are based on Joule heating, the systems are inefficient and dramatically slow, especially due to their passive cooling process. This paper proposes using the Peltier effect as a reversible heating/cooling mechanism for thermo-active soft actuators to enable faster deformations, more efficient heat transfer, and active cooling. The proposed actuator is composed of a thin elastic membrane filled with phase-change fluid that can vaporize when heated to produce large deformations. This membrane is placed in a braided mesh to create a McKibben muscle that can lift 5 N after 60 s of heating, and is further formed into a gripper capable of manipulating objects within the environment. The effectiveness of the proposed actuator is demonstrated, and its potential applications in various fields are discussed.