CAREER: Bio-inspired design methods for distributed electromechanical actuators

职业：分布式机电执行器的仿生设计方法

• 批准号: 1943791
• 负责人: Arijit Banerjee
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-02-01 至 2025-01-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1943791&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Bio; inspired; design; methods

Title: CAREER: Bio-inspired design methods for distributed electromechanical actuatorsAbstract: The project objective is to create a class of modular and distributed electromechanical actuators and their power network that will enable robots to be agile, efficient, and capable of reproducing biological motions that today are impossible. Animals have the innate capability to move and maneuver effectively in complex and unstructured environments. Recent advances in bio-inspired robots have conceptualized collaborative robots or "cobots", which will interact with humans in multiple settings. Although state-of-the-art bio-inspired robots have achieved exquisite maneuvers, such systems have yet to closely replicate the grace, fluidity, and agility of their biological counterparts. There is a critical need to re-imagine these robots not only as an embodiment of mechanical linkages and artificial intelligence but also as a complex network of electromechanical actuators. The project aims to emulate a biological spine. A distributed actuator mimicking the spine mechanism will improve mobility, efficiency, and stability of robots in search, rescue, and recovery making them the first line of defense for disaster relief as well as surveillance reconnaissance, inspection, and exploration applications. The proposed research trajectory will catapult hardware advances in these robots to converge with the exploding capability of artificial intelligence and autonomous control, saving human lives and enhancing national security. Further, an active synthetic spine opens up opportunities to design a life-like exoskeleton, arrest spine deformities in children, augment upper-body rehabilitation therapy for stroke patients, perform whole-body robotic teleoperation, and add non-verbal capability in social robots. The integrated education and outreach plan aims to ignite curiosity in K-12 students about electromechanics and power electronics--foundations of our modern civilization--by using robotics as the catalyst.A spine is fundamental to providing flexibility and balance in animals while allowing efficient locomotion. Construction of a synthetic spine is remarkably different from other standard robotic mechanisms, such as arms and legs, due to the presence of multiple single-joint segments, each with a limited range of motion. The design strategy will take advantage of the limited displacement requirement to increase the actuator's torque-to-weight ratio. Instead of employing conventional electric motors that utilizes shear stress to generate motion, the proposed gearless design will use normal stress. Integrated design of mechanical springs and electromagnetics will enable a customized torque-displacement characteristic to achieve compliance and high efficiency--similar to muscles. Deployment of appropriate control and estimation techniques is proposed to vary output torque and compliance. The design methodology will be validated by constructing a hardware prototype of a synthetic spine. The project plans to construct demonstration kits using research results that connect math and theory to the craft of real-world systems such as robots and automated systems. These demo kits will attract and inspire K-12 students, underrepresented groups, and a broader audience about electrical power and energy processing. The demo kits blueprint will also be shared with K-12 educators to help them teach their STEM clubs. In summary, the proposed framework is the basis to build a multi-disciplinary understanding of distributed actuators and their power network in robots and automated systems and to advance the robotics workforce through educational pathways.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.

职务名称：职业：分布式机电执行器的生物启发设计方法摘要：该项目的目标是创建一类模块化和分布式机电执行器及其电源网络，使机器人敏捷，高效，并能够再现生物运动，今天是不可能的。动物具有在复杂和非结构化环境中有效移动和机动的先天能力。生物启发机器人的最新进展已经概念化了协作机器人或“cobots”，它将在多种环境中与人类互动。尽管最先进的仿生机器人已经实现了精致的动作，但这样的系统还没有完全复制生物机器人的优雅、流畅和敏捷。 有一个关键的需要重新想象这些机器人不仅作为一个体现机械联动和人工智能，而且作为一个复杂的网络的机电执行器。该项目旨在模仿生物脊柱。模仿脊柱机制的分布式致动器将提高机器人在搜索，救援和恢复中的移动性，效率和稳定性，使其成为灾难救援以及监视侦察，检查和勘探应用的第一道防线。拟议的研究轨迹将推动这些机器人的硬件进步，以融合人工智能和自主控制的爆炸性能力，拯救人类生命并增强国家安全。此外，主动合成脊柱为设计逼真的外骨骼、阻止儿童脊柱畸形、增强中风患者的上身康复治疗、执行全身机器人远程操作以及在社交机器人中添加非语言能力提供了机会。综合教育和推广计划旨在通过使用机器人作为催化剂，激发K-12学生对机电和电力电子的好奇心-我们现代文明的基础。脊椎是提供动物灵活性和平衡性的基础，同时允许有效的运动。合成脊柱的构造与其他标准机器人机构（例如手臂和腿）显著不同，这是由于存在多个单关节段，每个单关节段具有有限的运动范围。该设计策略将利用有限的位移要求，以增加致动器的扭矩重量比。代替采用利用剪切应力产生运动的传统电动机，所提出的无齿轮设计将使用法向应力。机械弹簧和电磁学的集成设计将使定制的扭矩-位移特性能够实现顺应性和高效率-类似于肌肉。部署适当的控制和估计技术，建议改变输出扭矩和顺应性。将通过构建人工脊柱的硬件原型来验证设计方法。该项目计划利用研究成果构建演示工具包，将数学和理论与机器人和自动化系统等现实世界系统的工艺联系起来。这些演示套件将吸引和激励K-12学生，代表性不足的群体，以及更广泛的观众对电力和能源处理。演示套件蓝图也将与K-12教育工作者分享，以帮助他们教授他们的STEM俱乐部。总之，建议的框架是建立分布式执行器及其在机器人和自动化系统中的电力网络的多学科理解的基础，并通过教育途径推进机器人劳动力。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为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来支持。

项目成果

System-Level Design Methodology for a Distributed Electromechanical Actuator in Bio-Inspired Robots

仿生机器人中分布式机电执行器的系统级设计方法

• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: 2021 IEEE International Electric Machines & Drives Conference (IEMDC
• 作者: Bonhyun Ku;Arijit Banerjee
• 通讯作者: Arijit Banerjee

A Control Architecture of a Distributed Actuator System for a Bio-Inspired Spine

仿生脊柱分布式执行器系统的控制架构

• DOI: 10.1109/iros47612.2022.9981571
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: 2022 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS
• 作者: Ku, Bonhyun;Banerjee, Arijit
• 通讯作者: Banerjee, Arijit