Fabrication, modeling, and characterization of soft twisting electrothermal actuators with directly printed oblique heater

Soft electrothermal actuators have drawn extensive attention in recent years for their promising applications in biomimetic and biomedical areas. Most soft electrothermal actuators reported so far demonstrated uniform bending deformation, due to the deposition based fabrication of the conductive heater layer from nanomaterial-based solutions, which generally provides uniform heating capacity and uniform bending deformation. In this paper, a soft electrothermal actuator that can provide twisting deformation was designed and fabricated. A metallic microfilament heater of the soft twisting actuator was directly printed using electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing, and embedded between two structural layers, a polyimide (PI) film and a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layer, with distinct thermal expansion properties. Assisted by the direct patterning capabilities of EHD printing, a skewed heater pattern was designed and printed. This skewed heater pattern not only produces a skewed parallelogram-shaped temperature field, but also changes the stiffness anisotropy of the actuator, leading to twisting deformation with coupled bending. A theoretical kinematic model was built for the twisting actuator to describe its twisting deformation under different actuation effects. Based on that model, influence of design parameters on the twisting angle and motion trajectory of the twisting actuator were studied and validated by experiments. Finite element analysis (FEA) was utilized for the thermal and deformation analysis of the actuator. The fabricated twisting actuator was characterized on its heating and twisting performance at different supply voltages. Using three twisting actuators, a soft gripper was designed and fabricated to implement pick-and-place operations of delicate objects.

Approximate field measures for ionic polymer-metal composite Materials and a simplified Order-of-magnitude actuator model

As the field of soft robotics grows and new applications for this technology are discovered, the use of simplified models for the soft actuators found in these devices will be critical. In this study we explore arguments based on the magnitude of field gradients that arise in the ionic polymer-metal composite under large applied voltages and their use for approximating measures of the fields inside the polymer. Using the order-of-magnitude based arguments provides exceptional results for quantifying the field measures of maximum ionic concentration and electric potential within the bulk of the polymer. These measures are leveraged to reconstruct the fields themselves in such a way that the internal bending moments generated inside the actuator may be approximated. With the internal moments, a simplified kinematic model may be used to formulate the steady-state actuator response of the IPMC. This actuator model shows a great deal of accuracy as compared to a full multiphysics model, and we discuss the prospects for future development of this model to account for dynamic actuation.

A Design Concept and Kinematic Model for a Soft Aquatic Robot with Complex Bio-mimicking Motion

Fish mortality assessments for turbine passages are currently performed by live-animal testing with up to a hundred thousand fish per year in Germany. A propelled sensor device could act as a fish surrogate. In this context, the study presented here investigates the state of the art via a thorough literature review on propulsion systems for aquatic robots. An evaluation of propulsion performance, weight, size and complexity of the motion achievable allows for the selection of an optimal concept for such a fish mimicking device carrying the sensors. In the second step, the design of a bioinspired soft robotic fish driven by an unconventional drive system is described. It is based on piezoceramic actuators, which allow for motion with five degrees of freedom (DOF) and the creation of complex bio-mimicking body motions. A kinematic model for the motion’s characteristics is developed, to achieve accurate position feedback with the use of strain gauges. Optical measurements validate the complex deformation of the body and deliver the basis for the calibration of the kinematic model. Finally, it can be shown, that the calibrated model presented allows the tracking of the deformation of the entire body with an accuracy of 0.1 mm.

Shape Sensing of Hyper-Redundant Robots Using an AHRS IMU Sensor Network

The paper proposes a novel approach for shape sensing of hyper-redundant robots based on an AHRS IMU sensor network embedded into the structure of the robot. The proposed approach uses the data from the sensor network to directly calculate the kinematic parameters of the robot in modules operational space reducing thus the computational time and facilitating implementation of advanced real-time feedback system for shape sensing. In the paper the method is applied for shape sensing and pose estimation of an articulated joint-based hyper-redundant robot with identical 2-DoF modules serially connected. Using a testing method based on HIL techniques the authors validate the computed kinematic model and the computed shape of the robot prototype. A second testing method is used to validate the end effector pose using an external sensory system. The experimental results obtained demonstrate the feasibility of using this type of sensor network and the effectiveness of the proposed shape sensing approach for hyper-redundant robots.

Static Force Analysis of a 3-DOF Robot for Spinal Vertebral Lamina Milling

In order to realize robot-assisted spinal laminectomy surgery and meet the clinical needs of the robot workspace, including accuracy in human–robot collaboration, an asymmetrical 3-DOF spatial translational robot is proposed, which can realize spinal laminectomy in a fixed posture. First, based on the screw theory, the constraint screw system of the robot was established, and the degree of freedom was derived to verify the spatial translational ability of the robot. Then, a kinematic model of the robot was established, and a static force model of the robot was derived based on the kinematic model. The mathematical relationship between the external force and the joint force/torque was obtained, with the quality of all links considered in the model. Finally, we modeled the robot and imported it into ADAMS to obtain the static force simulation results of the 3D model. The force error was approximately 0.001 N and the torque error was approximately 0.0001 N∙m compared with the simulation results of the mathematical model, accounting for 1% of the joint force/torque, which is acceptable. The result also showed the correctness of the mathematical models, and provides a theoretical basis for motion control and human–robot collaboration.

Sub-optimal Solution of the Inverse Kinematic Task of Redundant Robots without Using Lagrange Multipliers

In the paper a novel approach is suggested for solving the inverse kinematic task of redundant open kinematic chains. Traditional approaches as the Moore-Penrose generalized inverse-based solutions minimize the sum of squares of the timederivative of the joint coordinates under the constraint that contains the task itself. In the vicinity of kinematic singularities where these solutions are possible the hard constraint terms produce high time-derivatives that can be reduced by the use of a deformation proposed by Levenberg and Marquardt. The novel approach uses the basic scheme of the Receding Horizon Controllers in which the Lagrange multipliers are eliminated by direct application of the kinematic model over the horizon in the role of the ”control force”, and no reduced gradient has to be computed. This fact considerably decreases the complexity of the solution. If the cost function contains penalty for high joint coordinate time-derivatives the kinematic singularities are ab ovo better handled. Simulation examples made for a 7 degree of freedom robot arm demonstrate the operation of the novel approach. The computational need of the method is still considerable but it can be further decreased by the application of complementary tricks.

Earthquake slip vectors in the Himalayan thrust Zone and their tectonic implications

Slip vectors of thirty-nine thrust events occurring along the Himalayan collision zone have been compared with the velocity vectors between the Indian-Eurasian plates derived from the RM 2 and NUVEL 1 models, The observed deviations of the slip vector from the velocity vector have been interpreted in terms of a simple kinematic model according to which the eastern and western blocks of south Tibet are separating from each other, From the model it is estimated that the western and eastern blocks of Tibet are moving at the rate of 3.6 cm/year westwards at 76°Eand 2.6 cm/year eastwards at 94°E with respect to Eurasia respectively, resulting in an east-west extension, projected to the trend at 85°E, at the rate of 5, 5 cm/year. This would correspond to a strain rate of about 6.9 x 10-8year in central Tibetan region.

Geometrical analysis of motion schemes on fencing experts from competition videos

Geometrical fencing is a scientific approach to fencing pioneered by Camillo Agrippa in the XVIth century which consists of characterizing the geometrical structure of fencing movements. Many geometrical spaces are involved in a duel, which evolve over time according to the skills of the fencers and the game rules. In this article, the concept of motion scheme is introduced as a flexible geometrical structure to represent fencing spaces evolving over time. The method is applied to the video of a duel of the Olympic games 2016. Five main results are presented. First, decisive actions of the duel are deduced from the distance between fencers. Second, footwork is reconstructed from horizontal movements of the feet. Third, a kinematic model is developed and compared with data in the literature. Fourth, the lunge attack is characterized and compared with data in the literature. Fifth, the role of the free hand is studied in the case of protective and balancing gestures. These findings provide rich information on the geometrical structure of fencing movements as well as on the tactical-strategic choices made by the fencers in real competition conditions. Finally, four applications illustrate the scientific value of motion schemes in fencing and other sports.

GEODYNAMICS

The article studies the system organization of inversion tectonic deformations of the Dnieper-Donetsk Basin which covered the territory of the Western Donetsk Graben. The research uses the kinematic and structural-paragenetic analysis of inversion structural transformation of the folded floors of the sedimentary cover of the Graben. The original model of tectonic inversion of the Dnieper-Donets Basin was completed from the previous models. The tectonic inversion of the Dnieper-Donets Paleorift rift-like structures began at the late Hercynian stage in the geodynamic environment of the territory of the Eastern European Platform general collision. Tectonophysical analysis shows that the inversion folding was formed by the mechanism of sedimentary horizons longitudinal bending in the environment of the interference of the intraplate submeridional collision compression and the regional strike-slip stress field. At the Mesozoic-Cenozoic stage, tectonic inversion continued in the field of right-hand strike-slip deformations with a variable compressive component. This caused the formation of folded covers of tectonic plates and scales in the uplift-thrust mode. They, Hercynian neo-autochthonous formations and further the weakly located syneclise autochthon of the South-east of the Basin. The pressure of the "tectonic stamp" geoblock of the Donetsk Foldbelt contributed to the formationof the Segment body of geomass Tectonic Wedging. It was diagnosed with a structural orocline of transverse extension of the sliding type. Large linear throw-folded zones were formed within geodynamic bands of injection and displacement of geomass along the front of the orocline. The tectonic compression fan, characteristic of geodynamic compression zones, was formed in the foreland of the orocline, on the ends of the main thrusts. They served as “tectonic rails”of the allochthon invasion within the rift-like structure. There are the transverse zones of tectonic sutures formed on the roots of the folding covers of the Hercynian neo-autochthon thrusting, which are located in the hinterland of the orocline in the Foldbelt Western slope. The study completed an original kinematic model of tectonic inversion of the transition zone between the Dnieper-Donets Basin and Donets Foldbelt. According to the model, the pressure of the “tectonic stamp” geoblock initiated the invasion of the Segment of Tectonic Wedging which consists of the intensively dislocated allochthonous geomass. The Segment destroyed the rift-like structure and formed the Western Donetsk Cover-Folded Region in the South-eastern part of the Basin. The system organization model of inversion complications of the rift-like structure in the territory of the Western Donetsk Graben will allow to improve the regional geological schemes of tectonic oil and gas zoning.