This paper presents an untethered pneumatic soft robot which can crawl both in horizontal and vertical pipes with different sizes and cross sections.This robot uses modular origami inspired soft-rigid hybrid actuator ...This paper presents an untethered pneumatic soft robot which can crawl both in horizontal and vertical pipes with different sizes and cross sections.This robot uses modular origami inspired soft-rigid hybrid actuator to produce telescoping and anchoring movements powered by vacuum pressure.The introduction of grooves to valley crease significantly lowers the full contraction vacuum pressure and improves the response,allowing the system can be driven by an onboard micro vacuum pump,enabling the possibility of miniaturization,integration,and untethered operation of the robot.A series of crawling experiments in pipes with different sizes and cross sections constructed by acrylic are conducted to validate the crawling performance of the robot.Within square cross-section pipes,the robot can achieve a velocity of 9.4 mm/s in horizontal crawling and 7.7 mm/s in vertical upward crawling.For horizontal crawling in circular pipes,it can reach a velocity of 8.0 mm/s.When fully charged,the robot can crawl for 40 min with a mileage of 16.649 m,which is sufficient for most drainage and industrial pipelines detection tasks.The robot demonstrates excellent endurance and speed performance that exceed most existing untethered soft pipe crawling robots.展开更多
Micro-robots have the characteristics of small size,light weight and flexible movement.To design a micro three-legged crawling robot with multiple motion directions,a novel driving scheme based on the inverse piezoele...Micro-robots have the characteristics of small size,light weight and flexible movement.To design a micro three-legged crawling robot with multiple motion directions,a novel driving scheme based on the inverse piezoelectric effect of piezoelectric ceramics was proposed.The three legs of the robot were equipped with piezoelectric bimorphs as drivers,respectively.The motion principles were analyzed and the overall force analysis was carried out with the theoretical mechanics method.The natural frequency,mode shape and amplitude were analyzed with simulation software COMSOL Multiphysics,the optimal size was determined through parametric analysis,and then the micro three-legged crawling robot was manufactured.The effects of different driving voltages,different driving frequencies,different motion bases and different loads on the motion speed of the robot were tested.It is shown that the maximum speed of single-leg driving was 35.41 cm/s,the switching ability between different motion directions was measured,and the movements in six different directions were achieved.It is demonstrated the feasibility of multi-directional motion of the structure.The research may provide a reference for the design and development of miniature piezoelectric three-legged crawling robots.展开更多
Soft crawling robots have been widely studied and applied because of their excellent environmental adaptability and flexible movement.However,most existing soft crawling robots typically exhibit a single-motion mode a...Soft crawling robots have been widely studied and applied because of their excellent environmental adaptability and flexible movement.However,most existing soft crawling robots typically exhibit a single-motion mode and lack diverse capabilities.Inspired by Drosophila larvae,this paper proposes a compact soft crawling robot(weight,13 g;length,165 mm;diameter,35 mm)with multimodal locomotion(forward,turning,rolling,and twisting).Each robot module uses 4 sets of high-power-density shape memory alloy actuators,endowing it with 4 degrees of motion freedom.We analyze the mechanical characteristics of the robot modules through experiments and simulation analysis.The plug-and-play modules can be quickly assembled to meet different motion and task requirements.The soft crawling robot can be remotely operated with an external controller,showcasing multimodal motion on various material surfaces.In a narrow maze,the robot demonstrates agile movement and effective maneuvering around obstacles.In addition,leveraging the inherent bistable characteristics of the robot modules,we used the robot modules as anchoring units and installed a microcamera on the robot's head for pipeline detection.The robot completed the inspection in horizontal,vertical,curved,and branched pipelines,adjusted the camera view,and twisted a valve in the pipeline for the first time.Our research highlights the robot's superior locomotion and application capabilities,providing an innovative strategy for the development of lightweight,compact,and multifunctional soft crawling robots.展开更多
In this study,we present a small,integrated jumping-crawling robot capable of intermittent jumping and self-resetting.Compared to robots with a single mode of locomotion,this multi-modal robot exhibits enhanced obstac...In this study,we present a small,integrated jumping-crawling robot capable of intermittent jumping and self-resetting.Compared to robots with a single mode of locomotion,this multi-modal robot exhibits enhanced obstacle-surmounting capabilities.To achieve this,the robot employs a novel combination of a jumping module and a crawling module.The jumping module features improved energy storage capacity and an active clutch.Within the constraints of structural robustness,the jumping module maximizes the explosive power of the linear spring by utilizing the mechanical advantage of a closed-loop mechanism and controls the energy flow of the jumping module through an active clutch mechanism.Furthermore,inspired by the limb movements of tortoises during crawling and self-righting,a single-degree-of-freedom spatial four-bar crawling mechanism was designed to enable crawling,steering,and resetting functions.To demonstrate its practicality,the integrated jumping-crawling robot was tested in a laboratory environment for functions such as jumping,crawling,self-resetting,and steering.Experimental results confirmed the feasibility of the proposed integrated jumping-crawling robot.展开更多
Crawling robots have elicited much attention in recent years due to their stable and efficient locomotion.In this work,several crawling robots are developed using two types of soft pneumatic actuators(SPAs),namely,an ...Crawling robots have elicited much attention in recent years due to their stable and efficient locomotion.In this work,several crawling robots are developed using two types of soft pneumatic actuators(SPAs),namely,an axial elongation SPA and a dual bending SPA.By constraining the deformation of the elastomeric chamber,the SPAs realize their prescribed motions,and the deformations subjected to pressures are characterized with numerical models.Experiments are performed for verification,and the results show good agreement.The SPAs are fabricated by casting and developed into crawling robots with 3D-printing connectors.Control schemes are presented,and crawling tests are performed.The speeds predicted by the numerical models agree well with the speeds in the experiments.展开更多
This paper focuses on a newly developed transmission for a milli-scale eight-legged crawling robot called OriSCO.The transmission allows intuitive steering by directly changing the direction of the propulsion force.Th...This paper focuses on a newly developed transmission for a milli-scale eight-legged crawling robot called OriSCO.The transmission allows intuitive steering by directly changing the direction of the propulsion force.The transmission is based on the constrained spherical six-bar linkage.The constrained spherical six-bar linkage passes only reciprocating motion out of the motor’s rotating motion,allowing the crawling legs to kick the ground and obtain propulsion.Steering is achieved by adjusting the geometric constraints of the spherical six-bar using a servomotor,allowing the direction of propulsion to be changed.As a result,the OriSCO can move along the ground at a speed of 2.15 body lengths/s,and the robot is 60 mm long.展开更多
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant no.52475067.
文摘This paper presents an untethered pneumatic soft robot which can crawl both in horizontal and vertical pipes with different sizes and cross sections.This robot uses modular origami inspired soft-rigid hybrid actuator to produce telescoping and anchoring movements powered by vacuum pressure.The introduction of grooves to valley crease significantly lowers the full contraction vacuum pressure and improves the response,allowing the system can be driven by an onboard micro vacuum pump,enabling the possibility of miniaturization,integration,and untethered operation of the robot.A series of crawling experiments in pipes with different sizes and cross sections constructed by acrylic are conducted to validate the crawling performance of the robot.Within square cross-section pipes,the robot can achieve a velocity of 9.4 mm/s in horizontal crawling and 7.7 mm/s in vertical upward crawling.For horizontal crawling in circular pipes,it can reach a velocity of 8.0 mm/s.When fully charged,the robot can crawl for 40 min with a mileage of 16.649 m,which is sufficient for most drainage and industrial pipelines detection tasks.The robot demonstrates excellent endurance and speed performance that exceed most existing untethered soft pipe crawling robots.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no.51505133)by Key Research Project in Colleges and Universities of Henan Province (23A460010)by Opening Project of Henan Engineering Laboratory of Photoelectric Sensor and Intelligent Measurement and Control,Henan Polytechnic University (grant no.HELPSIMC-2020-006).
文摘Micro-robots have the characteristics of small size,light weight and flexible movement.To design a micro three-legged crawling robot with multiple motion directions,a novel driving scheme based on the inverse piezoelectric effect of piezoelectric ceramics was proposed.The three legs of the robot were equipped with piezoelectric bimorphs as drivers,respectively.The motion principles were analyzed and the overall force analysis was carried out with the theoretical mechanics method.The natural frequency,mode shape and amplitude were analyzed with simulation software COMSOL Multiphysics,the optimal size was determined through parametric analysis,and then the micro three-legged crawling robot was manufactured.The effects of different driving voltages,different driving frequencies,different motion bases and different loads on the motion speed of the robot were tested.It is shown that the maximum speed of single-leg driving was 35.41 cm/s,the switching ability between different motion directions was measured,and the movements in six different directions were achieved.It is demonstrated the feasibility of multi-directional motion of the structure.The research may provide a reference for the design and development of miniature piezoelectric three-legged crawling robots.
基金supported by the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China(LD22E-050007)National Natural Science Foundation of China(T2293724 and 62303407)the Key R&D Program of Zhejiang(2022C01022).
文摘Soft crawling robots have been widely studied and applied because of their excellent environmental adaptability and flexible movement.However,most existing soft crawling robots typically exhibit a single-motion mode and lack diverse capabilities.Inspired by Drosophila larvae,this paper proposes a compact soft crawling robot(weight,13 g;length,165 mm;diameter,35 mm)with multimodal locomotion(forward,turning,rolling,and twisting).Each robot module uses 4 sets of high-power-density shape memory alloy actuators,endowing it with 4 degrees of motion freedom.We analyze the mechanical characteristics of the robot modules through experiments and simulation analysis.The plug-and-play modules can be quickly assembled to meet different motion and task requirements.The soft crawling robot can be remotely operated with an external controller,showcasing multimodal motion on various material surfaces.In a narrow maze,the robot demonstrates agile movement and effective maneuvering around obstacles.In addition,leveraging the inherent bistable characteristics of the robot modules,we used the robot modules as anchoring units and installed a microcamera on the robot's head for pipeline detection.The robot completed the inspection in horizontal,vertical,curved,and branched pipelines,adjusted the camera view,and twisted a valve in the pipeline for the first time.Our research highlights the robot's superior locomotion and application capabilities,providing an innovative strategy for the development of lightweight,compact,and multifunctional soft crawling robots.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.51375383).
文摘In this study,we present a small,integrated jumping-crawling robot capable of intermittent jumping and self-resetting.Compared to robots with a single mode of locomotion,this multi-modal robot exhibits enhanced obstacle-surmounting capabilities.To achieve this,the robot employs a novel combination of a jumping module and a crawling module.The jumping module features improved energy storage capacity and an active clutch.Within the constraints of structural robustness,the jumping module maximizes the explosive power of the linear spring by utilizing the mechanical advantage of a closed-loop mechanism and controls the energy flow of the jumping module through an active clutch mechanism.Furthermore,inspired by the limb movements of tortoises during crawling and self-righting,a single-degree-of-freedom spatial four-bar crawling mechanism was designed to enable crawling,steering,and resetting functions.To demonstrate its practicality,the integrated jumping-crawling robot was tested in a laboratory environment for functions such as jumping,crawling,self-resetting,and steering.Experimental results confirmed the feasibility of the proposed integrated jumping-crawling robot.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.52075180 and U1713207)the Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou(Grant No.201904020020)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.
文摘Crawling robots have elicited much attention in recent years due to their stable and efficient locomotion.In this work,several crawling robots are developed using two types of soft pneumatic actuators(SPAs),namely,an axial elongation SPA and a dual bending SPA.By constraining the deformation of the elastomeric chamber,the SPAs realize their prescribed motions,and the deformations subjected to pressures are characterized with numerical models.Experiments are performed for verification,and the results show good agreement.The SPAs are fabricated by casting and developed into crawling robots with 3D-printing connectors.Control schemes are presented,and crawling tests are performed.The speeds predicted by the numerical models agree well with the speeds in the experiments.
基金supported by the Research Program funded by the SeoulTech(Seoul National University of Science and Technology).
文摘This paper focuses on a newly developed transmission for a milli-scale eight-legged crawling robot called OriSCO.The transmission allows intuitive steering by directly changing the direction of the propulsion force.The transmission is based on the constrained spherical six-bar linkage.The constrained spherical six-bar linkage passes only reciprocating motion out of the motor’s rotating motion,allowing the crawling legs to kick the ground and obtain propulsion.Steering is achieved by adjusting the geometric constraints of the spherical six-bar using a servomotor,allowing the direction of propulsion to be changed.As a result,the OriSCO can move along the ground at a speed of 2.15 body lengths/s,and the robot is 60 mm long.
