scholarly journals One Soft Step: Bio-Inspired Artificial Muscle Mechanisms for Space Applications

2022 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Ashby ◽  
Samuel Rosset ◽  
E.-F. Markus Henke ◽  
Iain A. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Outer Space ◽  
Artificial Muscle ◽  
Artificial Muscles ◽  
Space Applications ◽  
Soft Robots ◽  
Deformable Bodies ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Soft Actuators ◽  
The Cost ◽  
High Work

Soft robots, devices with deformable bodies and powered by soft actuators, may fill a hitherto unexplored niche in outer space. All space-bound payloads are heavily limited in terms of mass and volume, due to the cost of launch and the size of spacecraft. Being constructed from stretchable materials allows many possibilities for compacting soft robots for launch and later deploying into a much larger volume, through folding, rolling, and inflation. This morphability can also be beneficial for adapting to operation in different environments, providing versatility, and robustness. To be truly soft, a robot must be powered by soft actuators. Dielectric elastomer transducers (DETs) offer many advantages as artificial muscles. They are lightweight, have a high work density, and are capable of artificial proprioception. Taking inspiration from nature, in particular the starfish podia, we present here bio-inspired inflatable DET actuators powering low-mass robots capable of performing complex motion that can be compacted to a fraction of their operating size.

Modeling, Analysis, and Function Extension of the McKibben Hydraulic Artificial Muscles

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siqing Chen ◽  
He Xu
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Theoretical Analysis ◽  
Artificial Muscle ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Artificial Muscles ◽  
Soft Robots ◽  
The Law ◽  
Soft Actuators ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Compared with rigid robots, flexible robots have soft and extensible bodies enforcing their abilities to absorb shock and vibration, hence reducing the impact of probable collisions. Due to their high adaptability and minimally invasive features, soft robots are used in various fields. The McKibben hydraulic artificial muscles are the most popular soft actuator because of the controllability of hydraulic actuator and high force to weight ratio. When its deformation reaches a certain level, the actuators can be stopped automatically without any other braking mechanism. The research of McKibben hydraulic artificial muscles is beneficial to the theoretical analysis of soft actuators in the mechanical system. The design of soft actuators with different deformations promotes the development of soft robots. In this paper, a static modeling of the McKibben hydraulic artificial muscles is established, and its correctness is verified by theoretical analysis and experiment. In this model, the deformation mechanism of the artificial muscle and the law of output force is put forward. The relationship between muscle pressure, load, deformation, and muscle design parameters is presented through the mechanical analysis of the braid, elastic tube, and sealed-end. The law of the muscle deformation with high pressure is predicted. The reason for the muscle’s tiny elongation with extremely high pressure is found through the analysis of the relationship between the angle of the braid, the length of single braided thread, and the pressure. With the increase of pressure, the angle of the braid tends to a fixed value. As the stress of braided thread increases, so does its length. The length changes obviously when the stress is extremely enormous. The angle of the braid and the length of the braided thread control the deformation of artificial muscles, resulting in a slight lengthening with extreme high pressure. Under normal pressure, the length of the braided wire is negligible, so that the entire muscle becomes shorter. According to the modeling and theoretical analysis, a new McKibben hydraulic artificial muscle that can elongate under normal rising pressure is designed. This artificial muscle can grow longer with pressure increases, eventually reaching its maximum length. During this time, its diameter barely changes. Its access pressure is higher than that of conventional elongated artificial muscles. Through experiments, the relationship between the muscle deformation, pressure, and load still conform to this theoretical model. This model can be used for the control of soft actuators and the design of new soft robots. This extensional McKibben hydraulic artificial muscles and the conventional McKibben hydraulic artificial muscles can be used in the bilateral control of soft robots.

scholarly journals Development of Soft Pneumatic Actuators Using High-Strain Elastic Materials with Stress Anisotropy of Short Fibers

Proceedings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Akihiro Kojima ◽  
Manabu Okui ◽  
Taro Nakamura
Keyword(s):  
Fiber Type ◽  
Artificial Muscle ◽  
Axial Direction ◽  
Short Fiber ◽  
Working Fluid ◽  
Artificial Muscles ◽  
Rubber Tube ◽  
Fiber Reinforced ◽  
Soft Robots ◽  
Soft Actuators

In recent years, soft robots, such as those with high human affinity and those that excellently imitate the movements of natural creatures, have gained considerable attention. In soft robots, structurally flexible soft actuators need to be used, not conventional motors or hydraulic/pneumatic cylinders. Various types of soft actuators have been developed depending on the driving principle. A pneumatic rubber artificial muscle is a kind of soft actuator that acquires power through injection of a working fluid, such as air, into an elastic structure, such as rubber. In this study, the authors developed an actuator, namely, the straight-fiber-type artificial muscle, which exhibits excellent contraction characteristics. This artificial muscle consists of a rubber tube that contains reinforcing fibers arranged in the axial direction. When air pressure is applied to the rubber tube, the artificial muscle expands only in the radial direction and contracts in the axial direction due to the restraining effect of the reinforcing fiber. While this artificial muscle exhibits excellent contraction properties, it has some drawbacks. One is the difficulty in enclosing the reinforced fibers that have accumulated in the rubber tube, making this artificial muscle difficult to manufacture. In this study, we investigated short-fiber-reinforced artificial muscles that can be easily manufactured. First, a short-fiber-reinforced rubber was prepared, and anisotropy was evaluated via a tensile test. Then, the short-fiber-reinforced artificial muscles were prepared, and their contractions rates were evaluated. The results confirmed that a short-fiber-reinforced rubber can be useful for the manufacture of artificial muscles.

scholarly journals Dielectric Elastomer Grippers

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 33-36
Author(s):  
Mills Patel ◽  
Rudrax Khamar ◽  
Akshat Shah ◽  
Tej shah ◽  
Bhavik Soneji
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Power Generation ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Artificial Muscle ◽  
Dielectric Elastomer ◽  
Soft Robotics ◽  
Artificial Muscles ◽  
Dielectric Elastomer Actuators ◽  
Working Principle ◽  
Soft Actuators

This paper appraisals state-of-the-art dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) and their forthcoming standpoints as soft actuators which have freshly been considered as a crucial power generation module for soft robots. DEs behave as yielding capacitors, expanding in area and attenuation in thickness when a voltage is applied. The paper initiates with the explanation of working principle of dielectric elastomer grippers. Here the operation of DEAs include both physics and mechanical properties with its characteristics, we have describe methods for modelling and its introductory application. In inclusion, the artificial muscle based on DEA concept is also formally presented. This paper also elaborates DEAs popular application such as- Soft Robotics, Robotics grippers and artificial muscles.

Actuation of untethered pneumatic artificial muscles and soft robots using magnetically induced liquid-to-gas phase transitions

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (41) ◽  
pp. eaaz4239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed M. Mirvakili ◽  
Douglas Sim ◽  
Ian W. Hunter ◽  
Robert Langer
Keyword(s):  
Phase Transition ◽  
Gas Phase ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Artificial Muscle ◽  
Artificial Muscles ◽  
Peak Strain ◽  
Soft Robots ◽  
Robotic Arms ◽  
Actuation Mechanism ◽  
Pneumatic Artificial Muscles

Pneumatic artificial muscles have been widely used in industry because of their simple and relatively high-performance design. The emerging field of soft robotics has also been using pneumatic actuation mechanisms since its formation. However, these actuators/soft robots often require bulky peripheral components to operate. Here, we report a simple mechanism and design for actuating pneumatic artificial muscles and soft robotic grippers without the use of compressors, valves, or pressurized gas tanks. The actuation mechanism involves a magnetically induced liquid-to-gas phase transition of a liquid that assists the formation of pressure inside the artificial muscle. The volumetric expansion in the liquid-to-gas phase transition develops sufficient pressure inside the muscle for mechanical operations. We integrated this actuation mechanism into a McKibben-type artificial muscle and soft robotic arms. The untethered McKibben artificial muscle generated actuation strains of up to 20% (in 10 seconds) with associated work density of 40 kilojoules/meter3, which favorably compares with the peak strain and peak energy density of skeletal muscle. The untethered soft robotic arms demonstrated lifting objects with an input energy supply from only two Li-ion batteries.

MXene artificial muscles based on ionically cross-linked Ti3C2Tx electrode for kinetic soft robotics

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (33) ◽  
pp. eaaw7797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sima Umrao ◽  
Rassoul Tabassian ◽  
Jaehwan Kim ◽  
Van Hiep Nguyen ◽  
Qitao Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Structural Reliability ◽  
Artificial Muscle ◽  
Response Speed ◽  
Input Voltage ◽  
Artificial Muscles ◽  
Wearable Electronics ◽  
Bending Strain ◽  
Kinetic Art ◽  
Robotic Devices ◽  
Soft Actuators

Existing ionic artificial muscles still require a technology breakthrough for much faster response speed, higher bending strain, and longer durability. Here, we report an MXene artificial muscle based on ionically cross-linked Ti3C2Tx with poly(3,4 ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate), showing ultrafast rise time of within 1 s in DC responses, extremely large bending strain up to 1.37% in very low input voltage regime (0.1 to 1 V), long-term cyclic stability of 97% up to 18,000 cycles, markedly reduced phase delay, and very broad frequency bandwidth up to 20 Hz with good structural reliability without delamination under continuous electrical stimuli. These artificial muscles were successfully applied to make an origami-inspired narcissus flower robot as a wearable brooch and dancing butterflies and leaves on a tree as a kinetic art piece. These successful demonstrations elucidate the wide potential of MXene-based soft actuators for the next-generation soft robotic devices including wearable electronics and kinetic art pieces.

Macroporous smart gel based on pH-sensitive polyacrylic polymer for the development of large size artificial muscle with linear contraction

Soft Matter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Mansard
Keyword(s):  
Soft Matter ◽  
Artificial Muscle ◽  
Ph Sensitive ◽  
Artificial Muscles ◽  
Linear Contraction ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Polyacrylic Polymer ◽  
The Revolution

The physics of soft matter can contribute to the revolution in robotics and medical prostheses.These two fields requires the development of artificial muscles with behavior close to the biologicalmuscle. Today,...

Multiple Inputs-Single Accumulated Output Mechanism for Soft Linear Actuators

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyeong Ho Cho ◽  
Ho Moon Kim ◽  
Youngeun Kim ◽  
Sang Yul Yang ◽  
Hyouk Ryeol Choi
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Muscle ◽  
Operating Mode ◽  
Robotic Arm ◽  
Soft Actuator ◽  
Wearable Robots ◽  
Working Principle ◽  
Linear Actuators ◽  
Soft Actuators ◽  
Muscle Actuators ◽  
Further Development

Soft linear actuators (SLAs) such as shape memory alloy (SMA) wires, pneumatic soft actuators, dielectric elastomer actuator, and twisted and coiled soft actuator (TCA) called artificial muscle actuators in general, have many advantages over the conventional actuators. SLAs can realize innovative robotic technologies like soft robots, wearable robots, and bionic arms in the future, but further development is still needed in real applications because most SLAs do not provide large displacement or force as needed. This paper presents a novel mechanism supplementing SLAs by accumulating the displacement of multiple SLAs. It adopts the principle of differential gears in reverse. Since the input units of the mechanism are extensible, more displacement can be accumulated by increasing the number of the input units as many as needed. The mechanism is basically used to accumulate displacements, but can be used to accumulate forces by changing its operating mode. This paper introduces the design and working principle of the mechanism and validates its operation experimentally. In addition, the mechanism is implemented on a robotic arm and its effectiveness is confirmed.

scholarly journals Implementation of Soft-Lithography Techniques for Fabrication of Bio-Inspired Multi-Layer Dielectric Elastomer Actuators with Interdigitated Mechanically Compliant Electrodes

Actuators ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mert Corbaci ◽  
Wayne Walter ◽  
Kathleen Lamkin-Kennard
Keyword(s):  
Soft Lithography ◽  
Skeletal Muscles ◽  
Actuation Voltage ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Humanoid Robots ◽  
Dielectric Elastomer ◽  
Industrial Robots ◽  
Artificial Muscles ◽  
Dielectric Elastomer Actuators ◽  
Soft Actuators

Advancements in software engineering have enabled the robotics industry to transition from the use of giant industrial robots to more friendly humanoid robots. Soft robotics is one of the key elements needed to advance the transition process by providing a safer way for robots to interact with the environment. Electroactive polymers (EAPs) are one of the best candidate materials for the next generation of soft robotic actuators and artificial muscles. Lightweight dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) provide optimal properties such as high elasticity, rapid response rates, mechanical robustness and compliance. However, for DEAs to become widely used as artificial muscles or soft actuators, there are current limitations, such as high actuation voltage requirements, control of actuation direction, and scaling, that need to be addressed. The authors’ approach to overcome the drawbacks of conventional DEAs is inspired by the natural skeletal muscles. Instead of fabricating a large DEA device, smaller sub-units can be fabricated and bundled together to form larger actuators, similar to the way myofibrils form myocytes in skeletal muscles. The current study presents a novel fabrication approach, utilizing soft lithography and other microfabrication techniques, to allow fabrication of multilayer stacked DEA structures, composed of hundreds of micro-sized DEA units.

scholarly journals Theoretical Comparison of McKibben-Type Artificial Muscle and Novel Straight-Fiber-Type Artificial Muscle

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 544-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroki Tomori ◽  
◽  
Taro Nakamura
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Dynamic Characteristic ◽  
Fiber Type ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Artificial Muscle ◽  
Artificial Muscles ◽  
Contraction Rate ◽  
Theoretical Comparison ◽  
Straight Fiber ◽  
Force Characteristics

Robots have entered human life, and closer relationships are being formed between humans and robots. It is desirable that these robots be flexible and lightweight. With this as our goal, we have developed an artificial muscle actuator using straight-fiber-type artificial muscles derived from the McKibben-type muscles, which have excellent contraction rate and force characteristics. In this study, we compared the steady state and dynamic characteristic of straightfiber-type and McKibben-type muscles and verified the usefulness of straight-fiber-type muscles.

scholarly journals Dragonfly Inspired Smart Soft Robot

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vardhman Kumar ◽  
Ung Hyun Ko ◽  
Yilong Zhou ◽  
Jiaul Hoque ◽  
Gaurav Arya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Remediation ◽  
Stimuli Responsive ◽  
Complex Environments ◽  
Soft Robots ◽  
Responsive Materials ◽  
Environmental Perturbations ◽  
Integration Strategies ◽  
Soft Actuators ◽  
Harsh Conditions

Recent advancements in soft robotics have led to the development of compliant robots that can exhibit complex motions driven by living cells(1, 2), chemical reactions(3), or electronics(4). Further innovations are however needed to create the next generation of soft robots that can carry out advanced functions beyond locomotion. Here we describe DraBot—a dragonfly-inspired, entirely soft, multifunctional robot that combines long-term locomotion over water surface with sensing, responding, and adaptation capabilities. By integrating soft actuators, stimuli-responsive materials, and microarchitectural features, we created a circuitry of pneumatic and microfluidic logic that enabled the robot to undergo user- and environment-controlled (pH) locomotion, including navigating hazardous (acidic) conditions. DraBot was also engineered to sense additional environmental perturbations (temperature) and detect and clean up chemicals (oil). The design, fabrication, and integration strategies demonstrated here pave a way for developing futuristic soft robots that can acclimatize and adapt to harsh conditions while carrying out complex tasks such as exploration, environmental remediation, and health care in complex environments.

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