CRII: RI: Embedded and Continuous Shape Morphing using Twisted-and-Coiled Artificial Muscle

CRII：RI：使用扭曲和卷曲人工肌肉进行嵌入式和连续形状变形

• 批准号: 1755766
• 负责人: Jianguo Zhao
• 金额: $ 17.5万
• 依托单位: Colorado State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-06-01 至 2022-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1755766&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CRII; RI; Embedded; Continuous; Shape

Many animals have the ability to locomote in different environments, such as on land, in the water, and in the air. Developing biologically inspired robots with similar abilities would open up many new types of applications for robotics. Towards this goal, this research investigates a novel shape morphing scheme that can autonomously modify the shape of a structure, such as by changing legs to flippers. With shape morphing capabilities, robots can leverage varying shapes from the same structure for locomotion in different environments, which can drastically reduce the robot's costs while dramatically improving their performance. The approach can enable a structure to precisely morph into a three-dimensional shape without using bulky external sensors and actuators, making it suitable for various applications such as morphing wings, multimodal robots, programmable matter, foldable robots, etc. The project will also broadly impact STEM students of all ages through outreach to K-12 students, enhancement of existing curriculum with research-inspired projects, and promotion of undergraduate research.The new shape morphing scheme is accomplished by embedding a novel twisted-and-coiled actuator (TCA) into soft materials, together with a thermoplastic material with temperature-dependent stiffness. With the proposed scheme, this project aims to accomplish embedded and continuous shape morphing through closed-loop shape control enabled by the TCA's dual actuation and sensing capabilities. To do this, physics-based models will be first established to relate a desired shape of a structure to the embedded TCA's electrical resistance. Then, closed-loop shape control can be accomplished by controlling the TCA's resistance to a desired value. Finally, the proposed shape morphing scheme is applied to a miniature amphibious robot that can swim in water with straight legs and travel on ground by morphing the legs into a curved shape.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

许多动物有能力在不同的环境中移动，如在陆地上，水中和空中。 开发具有类似能力的仿生机器人将为机器人技术开辟许多新的应用领域。为了实现这一目标，本研究探讨了一种新的形状变形方案，可以自主修改结构的形状，如通过改变腿鳍。借助形状变形功能，机器人可以利用相同结构的不同形状在不同环境中运动，这可以大大降低机器人的成本，同时显着提高其性能。该方法可以使结构精确地变形为三维形状，而无需使用庞大的外部传感器和致动器，使其适用于各种应用，如变形机翼，多模态机器人，可编程物质，可折叠机器人等。该项目还将通过扩展到K-12学生，通过研究启发的项目增强现有课程，新的形状变形方案是通过将一种新型的扭曲和盘绕致动器（TCA）嵌入到软材料中以及具有温度依赖刚度的热塑性材料来实现的。 与建议的计划，该项目的目的是完成嵌入式和连续的形状变形，通过闭环形状控制，使TCA的双重驱动和传感能力。为此，将首先建立基于物理的模型，以将结构的期望形状与嵌入式TCA的电阻相关联。然后，闭环形状控制可以通过控制TCA的电阻到期望值来实现。最后，所提出的形状变形方案被应用到一个微型两栖机器人，可以在水中游泳与直腿和地面上旅行的腿变形成一个弯曲的形状。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

项目成果

Dynamic Modeling of Soft Manipulators Actuated by Twisted-and-Coiled Actuators*

由扭转线圈致动器驱动的软机械手的动态建模*

• DOI: 10.1109/cdc.2018.8618743
• 发表时间: 2018
• 期刊: 2018 IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC
• 作者: Pawlowski, Ben;Sun, Jiefeng;Zhao, Jianguo
• 通讯作者: Zhao, Jianguo

Tuning the Energy Landscape of Soft Robots for Fast and Strong Motion

• DOI: 10.1109/icra40945.2020.9196737
• 发表时间: 2020-05
• 期刊: 2020 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)
• 作者: Jiefeng Sun;Brandon Tighe;Jianguo Zhao

Modeling and Simulation of Soft Robots driven by Artificial Muscles: an Example using Twisted-and-Coiled Actuators

人工肌肉驱动的软体机器人的建模和仿真：使用扭转线圈执行器的示例

• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: The 2022 American Control Conference (ACC
• 作者: Sun, Jiefeng;Zhao, Jianguo
• 通讯作者: Zhao, Jianguo

Twisted-and-Coiled Actuators with Free Strokes Enable Soft Robots with Programmable Motions

• DOI: 10.1089/soro.2019.0175
• 发表时间: 2020-06-22
• 期刊: SOFT ROBOTICS
• 影响因子: 7.9
• 作者: Sun, Jiefeng;Tighe, Brandon;Zhao, Jianguo
• 通讯作者: Zhao, Jianguo

Physics-Based Modeling of Twisted-and-Coiled Actuators Using Cosserat Rod Theory

• DOI: 10.1109/tro.2021.3104238
• 发表时间: 2022-04
• 期刊: IEEE Transactions on Robotics
• 影响因子: 7.8
• 作者: Jiefeng Sun;Jianguo Zhao