Integrated compliant actuation for untethered soft robotic systems

在机器人系统中使用柔软、灵活的技术是机器人设计的传统基础的根本转变。柔顺的、可变形的材料允许许多生物原理被模拟，这种新兴的软方法可以创造出强大的机器人来处理不确定性，更安全地与人类互动，并在非结构化环境中顺从地移动。然而，缺乏能够可靠地复制动物体内肌肉功能的软性嵌入式执行器已经成为技术瓶颈。这限制了软机器人在实验室条件之外的应用，这些应用需要从系绳到硬供应系统的自主权。该项目旨在开发创新的混合驱动系统，将软机器人的应用扩展到自主和无系绳系统。像生物肌肉一样，这些驱动器将完全集成到软机器人设备中，而不会牺牲它们的性能。提出的改进软作动性能的发展是由两个潜在目标驱动的。其中第一个问题涉及如何充分增加软致动器的功率重量比（W/kg），以便与刚性致动器相媲美。第二个首要目标是，需要将软机器人从阀门、泵和电动机等硬供应系统中解放出来。实现这些目标的动机是赋予软机器人系统自主性、移动性，并最终实现所有子系统的内在遵从性。在这个项目中，将在两类软机器人技术上取得进展，流体致动器和热主动致动器，每一类都将与其他技术相结合，如电活性聚合物和蒸发器-冷凝器网络。这些新的混合执行机构将形成层次结构,不需要任何刚性组件,可以完全变形。通过解决对可自由移动的软机器人技术的需求，该项目如果成功，将对自主软机器人和可穿戴软机器人医疗技术的发展产生重大影响。

The use of soft, flexible technologies in robotic systems is a fundamental shift from the traditional basis of how a robot should be designed. Compliant, deformable materials allow many biological principles to be emulated and this emerging soft approach can create robots that robustly deal with uncertainty, interact more safely with humans and compliantly move through unstructured environments. However, the lack of soft, embedded actuators that reliably replicate the functionality of muscles in the animal body has become a technological bottleneck. This has limited how effectively soft robots can be applied outside of laboratory conditions in applications that require either autonomy from tethering to hard supply systems.This project aims to develop innovative hybrid actuation systems which will expand the application of soft robotics towards autonomous and untethered systems. Like biological muscle, these actuators will be fully integrated into soft robotic devices without sacrificing their performance. The proposed developments of improved soft actuation performance are driven by two underlying objectives. The first of these relates to how the power to weight ratio (W/kg) of soft actuators can be sufficiently increased so that they are comparable to rigid actuators. The second overarching objective is driven by the need to untether soft robots from hard supply systems such as valves, pumps and electric motors. The motivations for these objectives are to give soft robotic systems autonomy, mobility and, ultimately, inherent compliance of all sub-systems.In this project advances will be made with two classes of soft robotic technology, fluidic actuators and thermo-active actuators, which will each be integrated with additional technologies such as electro-active polymers and evaporator-condenser networks. These new hybrid actuators will form hierarchical structures that do not need any rigid components and can be fully deformed. By addressing the need for soft robotic technologies that can be untethered and mobile the project will, if successful, have significant impact in the development of autonomous soft robots and wearable soft robotic healthcare technologies.