The strength and endurance of human limbs can be enhanced through equipping exoskeletons or other types of wearabledevices. However, long-time use of such devices may cause musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) or potentia...The strength and endurance of human limbs can be enhanced through equipping exoskeletons or other types of wearabledevices. However, long-time use of such devices may cause musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) or potential injuries due toexternal shocks and vibrations. Consequently, preventing potential risks and enhancing comfortability are crucial to the designof exoskeleton. This research introduces a novel hybrid rigid-soft knee joint exoskeleton, which is well flexible and supportedby two curved beams. This design is friendly and comfortable for wearers. The stiffness of the curved beam is meticulouslycalibrated to match the natural need of the knee joint, which provides appropriate support under vibration and impact. Weemploy the analytical modeling, finite element method (FEM), numerical analysis, and experimental approaches to analyze thestatic and dynamic properties of the knee exoskeleton system. The results confirm that the exoskeleton system exhibits reducedvibration transmissibility in low-frequency environments, and present a new methodology for the design and mechanicalanalysis of exoskeleton systems.展开更多
Inspired by the morphology of human fingers,this paper proposes an underactuated rigid-soft coupled robotic gripper whose finger is designed as the combination of a rigid skeleton and a soft tissue.Different from the ...Inspired by the morphology of human fingers,this paper proposes an underactuated rigid-soft coupled robotic gripper whose finger is designed as the combination of a rigid skeleton and a soft tissue.Different from the current grippers who have multi-point contact or line contact with the target objects,the proposed robotic gripper enables surface contact and leads to flexible grasping and robust holding.The actuated mechanism,which is the palm of proposed gripper,is optimized for excellent operability based on a mathematical model.Soft material selection and rigid skeleton structure of fingers are then analyzed through a series of dynamic simulations by RecurDyn and Adams.After above design process including topology analysis,actuated mechanism optimization,soft material selection and rigid skeleton analysis,the rigid-soft coupled robotic gripper is fabricated via 3D printing.Finally,the grasping and holding capabilities are validated by experiments testing the stiffness of a single finger and the impact resistance of the gripper.Experimental results show that the proposed rigid-soft coupled robotic gripper can adapt to objects with different properties(shape,size,weight and softness)and hold them steadily.It confirms the feasibility of the design procedure,as well as the compliant and dexterous grasping capabilities of proposed rigid-soft coupled gripper.展开更多
基金supported by Innovation Foundation for Doctor Dissertation of Northwestern Polytechnical University(Grant No.CX2024001).
文摘The strength and endurance of human limbs can be enhanced through equipping exoskeletons or other types of wearabledevices. However, long-time use of such devices may cause musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) or potential injuries due toexternal shocks and vibrations. Consequently, preventing potential risks and enhancing comfortability are crucial to the designof exoskeleton. This research introduces a novel hybrid rigid-soft knee joint exoskeleton, which is well flexible and supportedby two curved beams. This design is friendly and comfortable for wearers. The stiffness of the curved beam is meticulouslycalibrated to match the natural need of the knee joint, which provides appropriate support under vibration and impact. Weemploy the analytical modeling, finite element method (FEM), numerical analysis, and experimental approaches to analyze thestatic and dynamic properties of the knee exoskeleton system. The results confirm that the exoskeleton system exhibits reducedvibration transmissibility in low-frequency environments, and present a new methodology for the design and mechanicalanalysis of exoskeleton systems.
基金This was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 52275027,52275028 and 52205028in part by the Tianjin Science and Technology Planning Project under Grant 20201193.
文摘Inspired by the morphology of human fingers,this paper proposes an underactuated rigid-soft coupled robotic gripper whose finger is designed as the combination of a rigid skeleton and a soft tissue.Different from the current grippers who have multi-point contact or line contact with the target objects,the proposed robotic gripper enables surface contact and leads to flexible grasping and robust holding.The actuated mechanism,which is the palm of proposed gripper,is optimized for excellent operability based on a mathematical model.Soft material selection and rigid skeleton structure of fingers are then analyzed through a series of dynamic simulations by RecurDyn and Adams.After above design process including topology analysis,actuated mechanism optimization,soft material selection and rigid skeleton analysis,the rigid-soft coupled robotic gripper is fabricated via 3D printing.Finally,the grasping and holding capabilities are validated by experiments testing the stiffness of a single finger and the impact resistance of the gripper.Experimental results show that the proposed rigid-soft coupled robotic gripper can adapt to objects with different properties(shape,size,weight and softness)and hold them steadily.It confirms the feasibility of the design procedure,as well as the compliant and dexterous grasping capabilities of proposed rigid-soft coupled gripper.
