CNIC: US-Belgium Engineering Planning Visit: Simplified Models for Bio-inspired Actuators

这个催化新的国际合作（CNIC）奖支持项目开发访问布鲁塞尔的首席研究员，塔尔萨大学的约书亚舒尔茨，他和他的美国学生开始与同行一起研究真实的动态系统的控制（在工程中）的目标是确定最快速，轻松地产生肌肉降阶模型的方法-例如由模块单元组成的致动器。 比利时合作伙伴，Bram Vanderborght在Vrije Universiteit布鲁塞尔，具有可变阻抗致动器的专业知识，恭维PI的分层配置的细胞致动。 这两个研究人员都感兴趣的生物启发控制模式的招聘，其中的细胞结构和激活模式引起可变阻抗的行为和复杂的系统动力学。总之，研究人员打算计划分析和实验，以阐明由较小的模块化子致动器组成的软“蜂窝”致动器的基本系统动力学原理。 合作伙伴将使用平衡实现理论和模拟来确定这些类型的系统应如何配置。 初步结果应该指出未来一系列分析和数值系统动力学研究和实验的下一步，这些研究和实验将成为NSF在传感器，动力学和控制方面的后续提案的重点。 如果成功的话，这些方法可以用来设计具有损伤容限的机器人，并且需要更少数量的部件来构建和维护。新的合作预计将促进正在进行的联合研究以及研究顺应性设备和机制动力学的想法。 美国研究生和本科生在国外工作的参与提供了宝贵的职业生涯早期的国际研究经验。 此外，P.I.计划将这项初步研究的原理整合到塔尔萨大学的一门新课程中，这门课程是关于生物启发机器人的基础，以产生更广泛的影响。

This award for Catalyzing New International Collaborations (CNIC) supports a project development visit to Brussels by the principal investigator, Joshua Schultz of the University of Tulsa, and his U.S. students to initiate work with counterparts on the control of real dynamic systems (in engineering) with the goal of determining the most methods that quickly and easily produce a reduced-order model for muscle-like actuators composed of modular units. The Belgian partner, Bram Vanderborght at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels, has expertise in variable impedance actuators that compliments the PI's in hierarchially configured cellular actuation. Both investigators are interested in the biologically inspired control paradigm of recruitment in which the cellular structure and activation patterns give rise to variable impedance behavior and complex system dynamics. Together, the researchers intend to plan analysis and experiments to elucidate basic system dynamics principles of soft "cellular" actuators composed of smaller modular sub-actuators. The partners will approach this using balanced realization theory and simulation to determine how these types of systems should be configured. Preliminary results should point to next steps for a future series of analytical and numerical system dynamics studies and experiments that become the focus of a follow-on NSF proposal in Sensors, Dynamics and Control. If successful, these methods may be used to design robots that are damage tolerant and require fewer numbers of parts to build and maintain.The new collaboration is expected to foster on-going joint research as well as ideas for investigating compliant devices and mechanism dynamics. The participation of U.S. graduate and undergraduate students in the work abroad offers valuable early career international research experience. Furthermore, the P.I. plans to integrate the principles arising from this preliminary research into a new course at the University of Tulsa on foundations of biologically inspired robotics, for broader impact.