CAREER: Bio-inspired Controllable Tensegrity Structures

职业：仿生可控张拉整体结构

• 批准号: 0952558
• 负责人: Cornel Sultan
• 金额: $ 40万
• 依托单位: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-09-01 至 2016-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0952558&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Bio; inspired; Controllable; Tensegrity

The research objective of this Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) project is to develop new controllable tensegrity structures and motion control strategies by leveraging biological discoveries. The new structures will incorporate morphological and modeling innovations prompted by the benefits they bring to tensegrity systems encountered in biology. For example the membrane and intermediate filaments of the cytoskeleton are crucial in achieving structural integrity and morphing shape capabilities as well as sensing, control, and information transmitting functions of living cells. Likewise, internal cellular elements working close to their integrity limits explain why cells can resist extremely large forces. Therefore, membranes and intermediate filaments with sensing and control capabilities will be added to current tensegrity structures and the mathematical modeling assumptions will be relaxed to allow investigation of tensegrity structures close to their mechanical integrity limits. Also many living systems achieve fast and energy efficient motion control using elastic elements for actuation and articulated skeletons that resemble tensegrity structures. Based on the similarities between tensegrity and living structures, this research will develop new motion control strategies that exploit intrinsic properties of tensegrity structures such as prestressability and internal mechanisms. The research objective will be achieved by combining techniques and tools of graph theory, analytical mechanics, structural dynamics, control theory, as well as symbolic and numerical computation.If successful, the results of this research will answer crucial needs in science and engineering. In biology and medicine they will serve to: a) advance the fundamental understanding of the basic building block of living organisms, the cell; b) comprehend the connection between heart disease and cell?s structure; c) aid tissue and organ reconstruction research; d) explain how nature controls motion is a fast and energy efficient manner. In engineering the mathematical models and control strategies will be critical in validating tensegrity applications such as space telescopes, antennas, robots, thus enabling the jump from feasibility to implementation. In education the integrated research and education program will: a) promote inter- and multi-disciplinary education using tensegrity structures versatility; b) attract children to science using tensegrity structures fascinating appearance and properties; c) enhance the infrastructure for research and education by bringing together researchers from different fields.

该学院早期职业发展(CALEAR)项目的研究目标是利用生物学发现开发新的可控张拉整体结构和运动控制策略。新的结构将结合形态和建模创新，这些创新是由它们给生物中遇到的张拉整体系统带来的好处所推动的。例如，细胞骨架的膜和中间丝对于实现活细胞的结构完整性和变形能力以及感知、控制和信息传递功能至关重要。同样，接近其完整性极限的内部细胞元素解释了为什么细胞可以抵抗极大的力。因此，具有传感和控制能力的薄膜和中间纤维将被添加到目前的张拉整体结构中，数学建模假设将被放宽，以允许研究接近其机械完整性极限的张拉整体结构。此外，许多生物系统使用弹性元件实现快速和节能的运动控制，并使用类似于张拉整体结构的关节骨架。基于张拉整体结构与活体结构的相似性，本研究将开发新的运动控制策略，利用张拉整体结构的内在特性，如预应力能力和内部机制。研究目标将结合图论、分析力学、结构动力学、控制论以及符号和数值计算等技术和工具来实现。如果成功，这项研究成果将满足科学和工程方面的关键需求。在生物学和医学方面，它们将有助于：a)促进对生命有机体的基本构件细胞的基本了解；b)理解心脏病和细胞-S结构之间的联系；c)帮助组织和器官重建研究；d)解释自然如何以一种快速和高效的方式控制运动。在工程中，数学模型和控制策略将是验证张拉整体应用的关键，例如空间望远镜、天线、机器人，从而使从可行性跃升到实施。在教育方面，综合研究和教育计划将：a)利用张拉整体结构的多功能性来促进跨学科和多学科的教育；b)利用张拉整体结构吸引孩子们对科学感兴趣；c)通过汇聚不同领域的研究人员来加强研究和教育的基础设施。