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Gong S, Li W, Wu J, Feng B, Yi Z, Guo X, Zhang W, Shao L. A Soft Collaborative Robot for Contact-based Intuitive Human Drag Teaching. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 11:e2308835. [PMID: 38647364 PMCID: PMC11200028 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202308835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Revised: 04/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Soft material-based robots, known for their safety and compliance, are expected to play an irreplaceable role in human-robot collaboration. However, this expectation is far from real industrial applications due to their complex programmability and poor motion precision, brought by the super elasticity and large hysteresis of soft materials. Here, a soft collaborative robot (Soft Co-bot) with intuitive and easy programming by contact-based drag teaching, and also with exceptional motion repeatability (< 0.30% of body length) and ultra-low hysteresis (< 2.0%) is reported. Such an unprecedented capability is achieved by a biomimetic antagonistic design within a pneumatic soft robot, in which cables are threaded to servo motors through tension sensors to form a self-sensing system, thus providing both precise actuation and dragging-aware collaboration. Hence, the Soft Co-bots can be first taught by human drag and then precisely repeat various tasks on their own, such as electronics assembling, machine tool installation, etc. The proposed Soft Co-bots exhibit a high potential for safe and intuitive human-robot collaboration in unstructured environments, promoting the immediate practical application of soft robots.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shoulu Gong
- University of Michigan–Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint InstituteShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200240China
| | - Wenbo Li
- School of Mechanical Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and VibrationShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200240China
- School of Aerospace Engineering and Applied MechanicsTongji UniversityShanghai200092China
| | - Jiahao Wu
- University of Michigan–Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint InstituteShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200240China
| | - Bohan Feng
- University of Michigan–Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint InstituteShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200240China
| | - Zhiran Yi
- School of Mechanical Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and VibrationShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200240China
| | - Xinyu Guo
- School of Mechanical Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and VibrationShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200240China
| | - Wenming Zhang
- School of Mechanical Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and VibrationShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200240China
| | - Lei Shao
- University of Michigan–Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint InstituteShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200240China
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Li G, Shintake J, Hayashibe M. Soft-body dynamics induces energy efficiency in undulatory swimming: A deep learning study. Front Robot AI 2023; 10:1102854. [PMID: 36845333 PMCID: PMC9949375 DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2023.1102854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Recently, soft robotics has gained considerable attention as it promises numerous applications thanks to unique features originating from the physical compliance of the robots. Biomimetic underwater robots are a promising application in soft robotics and are expected to achieve efficient swimming comparable to the real aquatic life in nature. However, the energy efficiency of soft robots of this type has not gained much attention and has been fully investigated previously. This paper presents a comparative study to verify the effect of soft-body dynamics on energy efficiency in underwater locomotion by comparing the swimming of soft and rigid snake robots. These robots have the same motor capacity, mass, and body dimensions while maintaining the same actuation degrees of freedom. Different gait patterns are explored using a controller based on grid search and the deep reinforcement learning controller to cover the large solution space for the actuation space. The quantitative analysis of the energy consumption of these gaits indicates that the soft snake robot consumed less energy to reach the same velocity as the rigid snake robot. When the robots swim at the same average velocity of 0.024 m/s, the required power for the soft-body robot is reduced by 80.4% compared to the rigid counterpart. The present study is expected to contribute to promoting a new research direction to emphasize the energy efficiency advantage of soft-body dynamics in robot design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guanda Li
- Neuro-Robotics Lab, Department of Robotics, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Jun Shintake
- Department of Mechanical and Intelligent Systems Engineering, The University of Electro-Communications, Chofu, Japan
| | - Mitsuhiro Hayashibe
- Neuro-Robotics Lab, Department of Robotics, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan,*Correspondence: Mitsuhiro Hayashibe,
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Stella F, Hughes J. The science of soft robot design: A review of motivations, methods and enabling technologies. Front Robot AI 2023; 9:1059026. [PMID: 36743292 PMCID: PMC9889359 DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2022.1059026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Novel technologies, fabrication methods, controllers and computational methods are rapidly advancing the capabilities of soft robotics. This is creating the need for design techniques and methodologies that are suited for the multi-disciplinary nature of soft robotics. These are needed to provide a formalized and scientific approach to design. In this paper, we formalize the scientific questions driving soft robotic design; what motivates the design of soft robots, and what are the fundamental challenges when designing soft robots? We review current methods and approaches to soft robot design including bio-inspired design, computational design and human-driven design, and highlight the implications that each design methods has on the resulting soft robotic systems. To conclude, we provide an analysis of emerging methods which could assist robot design, and we present a review some of the necessary technologies that may enable these approaches.
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Design and control of soft biomimetic pangasius fish robot using fin ray effect and reinforcement learning. Sci Rep 2022; 12:21861. [PMID: 36529776 PMCID: PMC9760642 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-26179-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Soft robots provide a pathway to accurately mimic biological creatures and be integrated into their environment with minimal invasion or disruption to their ecosystem. These robots made from soft deforming materials possess structural properties and behaviors similar to the bodies and organs of living creatures. However, they are difficult to develop in terms of integrated actuation and sensing, accurate modeling, and precise control. This article presents a soft-rigid hybrid robotic fish inspired by the Pangasius fish. The robot employs a flexible fin ray tail structure driven by a servo motor, to act as the soft body of the robot and provide the undulatory motion to the caudal fin of the fish. To address the modeling and control challenges, reinforcement learning (RL) is proposed as a model-free control strategy for the robot fish to swim and reach a specified target goal. By training and investigating the RL through experiments on real hardware, we illustrate the capability of the fish to learn and achieve the required task.
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Sim-to-Real for Soft Robots Using Differentiable FEM: Recipes for Meshing, Damping, and Actuation. IEEE Robot Autom Lett 2022. [DOI: 10.1109/lra.2022.3154050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Youssef SM, Soliman M, Saleh MA, Mousa MA, Elsamanty M, Radwan AG. Modeling of Soft Pneumatic Actuators with Different Orientation Angles Using Echo State Networks for Irregular Time Series Data. MICROMACHINES 2022; 13:mi13020216. [PMID: 35208339 PMCID: PMC8880441 DOI: 10.3390/mi13020216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Modeling of soft robotics systems proves to be an extremely difficult task, due to the large deformation of the soft materials used to make such robots. Reliable and accurate models are necessary for the control task of these soft robots. In this paper, a data-driven approach using machine learning is presented to model the kinematics of Soft Pneumatic Actuators (SPAs). An Echo State Network (ESN) architecture is used to predict the SPA’s tip position in 3 axes. Initially, data from actual 3D printed SPAs is obtained to build a training dataset for the network. Irregular-intervals pressure inputs are used to drive the SPA in different actuation sequences. The network is then iteratively trained and optimized. The demonstrated method is shown to successfully model the complex non-linear behavior of the SPA, using only the control input without any feedback sensory data as additional input to the network. In addition, the ability of the network to estimate the kinematics of SPAs with different orientation angles θ is achieved. The ESN is compared to a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network that is trained on the interpolated experimental data. Both networks are then tested on Finite Element Analysis (FEA) data for other θ angle SPAs not included in the training data. This methodology could offer a general approach to modeling SPAs with varying design parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel M. Youssef
- Smart Engineering Systems Research Center (SESC), Nile University, Sheikh Zayed City 12588, Egypt;
- Correspondence:
| | - MennaAllah Soliman
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nile University, Sheikh Zayed City 12588, Egypt; (M.S.); (M.A.S.)
| | - Mahmood A. Saleh
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nile University, Sheikh Zayed City 12588, Egypt; (M.S.); (M.A.S.)
| | - Mostafa A. Mousa
- Nile University’s Innovation Hub, Nile University, Sheikh Zayed City 12588, Egypt;
| | - Mahmoud Elsamanty
- Smart Engineering Systems Research Center (SESC), Nile University, Sheikh Zayed City 12588, Egypt;
- Mechanical Department, Faculty of Engineering at Shoubra, Benha University, Cairo 11672, Egypt
| | - Ahmed G. Radwan
- Nanoelectronics Integrated Systems Center (NISC), Nile University, Sheikh Zayed City 12588, Egypt;
- Department of Engineering Mathematics and Physics, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt
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Youssef SM, Soliman M, Saleh MA, Mousa MA, Elsamanty M, Radwan AG. Underwater Soft Robotics: A Review of Bioinspiration in Design, Actuation, Modeling, and Control. MICROMACHINES 2022; 13:mi13010110. [PMID: 35056275 PMCID: PMC8778375 DOI: 10.3390/mi13010110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2021] [Revised: 12/31/2021] [Accepted: 01/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Nature and biological creatures are some of the main sources of inspiration for humans. Engineers have aspired to emulate these natural systems. As rigid systems become increasingly limited in their capabilities to perform complex tasks and adapt to their environment like living creatures, the need for soft systems has become more prominent due to the similar complex, compliant, and flexible characteristics they share with intelligent natural systems. This review provides an overview of the recent developments in the soft robotics field, with a focus on the underwater application frontier.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel M. Youssef
- Smart Engineering Systems Research Center (SESC), Nile University, Sheikh Zayed City 12588, Egypt;
- Correspondence:
| | - MennaAllah Soliman
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nile University, Sheikh Zayed City 12588, Egypt; (M.S.); (M.A.S.); (A.G.R.)
| | - Mahmood A. Saleh
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nile University, Sheikh Zayed City 12588, Egypt; (M.S.); (M.A.S.); (A.G.R.)
| | - Mostafa A. Mousa
- Nile University’s Innovation Hub, Nile University, Sheikh Zayed City 12588, Egypt;
| | - Mahmoud Elsamanty
- Smart Engineering Systems Research Center (SESC), Nile University, Sheikh Zayed City 12588, Egypt;
- Mechanical Department, Faculty of Engineering at Shoubra, Benha University, Cairo 11672, Egypt
| | - Ahmed G. Radwan
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nile University, Sheikh Zayed City 12588, Egypt; (M.S.); (M.A.S.); (A.G.R.)
- Department of Engineering Mathematics and Physics, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt
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Huang C, Lai Z, Zhang L, Wu X, Xu T. A magnetically controlled soft miniature robotic fish with a flexible skeleton inspired by zebrafish. BIOINSPIRATION & BIOMIMETICS 2021; 16:065004. [PMID: 34479217 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/ac23a9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The untethered miniature swimming robot actuation and control is difficult as the robot size becomes smaller, due to limitations of feasible miniaturized on-board components. Nature provides much inspiration for developing miniature robot. Here, a new artificial untethered miniature robotic fish with a flexible magnetic skeleton and soft body that achieve controlled locomotion under the water through an external magnetic field is presented. The soft body of the shuttle-shaped structure microrobot was manufactured from pure Ecoflex, while the skeleton for magnetic actuation was manufactured from Ecoflex and NdFeB composites in a certain ratio and was endowed with a special magnetization profile. Microrobots that experience external magnetic fields are able to swim underwater and have environmental adaptations that include the flexibility to traverse aquatic plants area and crushed stone terrain. The robot also exhibits friendly interactivity and camouflage ability to get close to the zebrafish without scaring them. Moreover, the soft miniature robotic fish could be used to study the impacts of the morphology and kinematics changing in zebrafish populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenyang Huang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Robotics and Intelligent System, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
- SIAT Branch, Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhengyu Lai
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Robotics and Intelligent System, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
- SIAT Branch, Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China
| | - Li Zhang
- SIAT-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
- Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Shatin NT, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
| | - Xinyu Wu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Robotics and Intelligent System, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
- SIAT Branch, Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
- SIAT-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
- Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory of Human-Machine Intelligence-Synergy Systems, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Tiantian Xu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Robotics and Intelligent System, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
- SIAT Branch, Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
- SIAT-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
- Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory of Human-Machine Intelligence-Synergy Systems, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
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