A Tip-Extending Soft Robot Enables Reconfigurable and Deployable Antennas
A Tip-Extending Soft Robot Enables Reconfigurable and Deployable Antennas
复制标题
DOI：
10.1109/lra.2018.2793303
复制
发表时间：
2018-04-01
影响因子：
5.2
通讯作者：
Hawkes, Elliot W.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Blumenschein, Laura H.;Gan, Lucia T.;Hawkes, Elliot W.
天线在无线通信和供电系统中至关重要。搜索救援和太空探索等应用将极大地受益于天线的可重构性以及紧凑且易于运输的天线部署。我们提出了可重构和可展开天线的设计和分析，该天线使用不断生长的软机器人来形成三维天线结构。我们的方法基于配备有导电元件的气动尖端延伸机器人。机器人增加其长度以实现天线部署，并改变形状以实现天线重新配置。作为模型系统，我们演示了一种单极天线设计，该设计使用由铜带形成的导电元件，该铜带在生长的前缘机械断开，以改变天线的长度，从而改变谐振频率。为了实现所需的工作频率，来自天线的回波损耗数据被用作闭环系统中的反馈来控制天线配置。我们的单极子支持 0.4 至 2 GHz 的频率调谐范围，并且可以在大约一秒内在两个目标频率之间调谐。我们还表明，添加分支和集成执行器可用于生成更复杂和多样化的天线形状。分支是在八木宇田模型天线中实现的，我们探索了拉索致动器和气动致动器与模型螺旋天线的集成。
Antennas are essential in wireless communications and powering systems. Applications, such as search and rescue and space exploration would greatly benefit from antenna reconfigurability, as well as antenna deployment from a compact and easy-to-transport form. We present the design and analysis of a reconfigurable and deployable antenna that uses a growing soft robot to form the three-dimensional antenna structure. Our approach is based on a pneumatic tip-extending robot instrumented with a conducting element. The robot increases its length to enable antenna deployment and changes shape to enable antenna reconfiguration. As a model system, we demonstrate a monopole antenna design that uses conducting elements formed from a copper strip that is mechanically disconnected at the leading edge of growth to change the length of the antenna and, as a result, change the resonant frequency. To achieve desired operating frequencies, return loss data from the antenna was used as feedback in a closed-loop system to control the antenna configuration. Our monopole supports a frequency tuning range that spans from 0.4 to 2 GHz and can tune between two target frequencies in approximately one second. We also show that the addition of branching and integrated actuators can be used to generate more complex and diverse antenna shapes. Branching is implemented in a model Yagi-Uda antenna and we explore the integration of pull cable actuators and pneumatic actuators with a model helical antenna.