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Zang G, Dai Z, Manoonpong P. The Roles and Comparison of Rigid and Soft Tails in Gecko-Inspired Climbing Robots: A Mini-Review. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:900389. [PMID: 35910016 PMCID: PMC9335492 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.900389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Geckos use millions of dry bristles on their toes to adhere to and rapidly run up walls and across ceilings. This has inspired the successful development of dry adhesive materials and their application to climbing robots. The tails of geckos also help realize adaptive and robust climbing behavior. Existing climbing robots with gecko-inspired tails have demonstrated improved locomotion performance. However, few studies have focused on the role of a robot’s gecko-inspired tail when climbing a sloped surface and its effects on the overall locomotion performance. Thus, this paper reviews and analyzes the roles of the tails of geckos and robots in terms of their climbing performances and compares the advantages and disadvantages of robots’ tails made of rigid and soft materials. This review could assist roboticists decide whether a tail is required for their robots and which materials and motion types to use for the tail in order to fulfill their desired functions and even allow the robots to adapt to different environments and tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangyuan Zang
- Institute of Bio-inspired Structure and Surface Engineering, College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China
- *Correspondence: Guangyuan Zang, ; Poramate Manoonpong,
| | - Zhendong Dai
- Institute of Bio-inspired Structure and Surface Engineering, College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China
| | - Poramate Manoonpong
- Institute of Bio-inspired Structure and Surface Engineering, College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China
- Bio-inspired Robotics and Neural Engineering Lab, School of Information Science and Technology, Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology, Rayong, Thailand
- *Correspondence: Guangyuan Zang, ; Poramate Manoonpong,
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2
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Reuleaux Triangle–Based Two Degrees of Freedom Bipedal Robot. ROBOTICS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/robotics10040114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper presents the design, modeling, analysis, and experimental results of a novel bipedal robotic system that utilizes two interconnected single degree-of-freedom (DOF) leg mechanisms to produce stable forward locomotion and steering. The single DOF leg is actuated via a Reuleaux triangle cam-follower mechanism to produce a constant body height foot trajectory. Kinematic analysis and dimension selection of the Reuleaux triangle mechanism is conducted first to generate the desired step height and step length. Leg sequencing is then designed to allow the robot to maintain a constant body height and forward walking velocity. Dynamic simulations and experiments are conducted to evaluate the walking and steering performance. The results show that the robot is able to control its body orientation, maintain a constant body height, and achieve quasi-static locomotion stability.
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Hunt NH, Jinn J, Jacobs LF, Full RJ. Acrobatic squirrels learn to leap and land on tree branches without falling. Science 2021; 373:697-700. [PMID: 34353955 PMCID: PMC9446516 DOI: 10.1126/science.abe5753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Arboreal animals often leap through complex canopies to travel and avoid predators. Their success at making split-second, potentially life-threatening decisions of biomechanical capability depends on their skillful use of acrobatic maneuvers and learning from past efforts. Here, we found that free-ranging fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) leaping across unfamiliar, simulated branches decided where to launch by balancing a trade-off between gap distance and branch-bending compliance. Squirrels quickly learned to modify impulse generation upon repeated leaps from unfamiliar, compliant beams. A repertoire of agile landing maneuvers enabled targeted leaping without falling. Unanticipated adaptive landing and leaping "parkour" behavior revealed an innovative solution for particularly challenging leaps. Squirrels deciding and learning how to launch and land demonstrates the synergistic roles of biomechanics and cognition in robust gap-crossing strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathaniel H Hunt
- Department of Biomechanics, University of Nebraska, Omaha, Omaha, NE, USA.
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Judy Jinn
- Department of Psychology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Lucia F Jacobs
- Department of Psychology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Robert J Full
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
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Norby J, Li JY, Selby C, Patel A, Johnson AM. Enabling Dynamic Behaviors With Aerodynamic Drag in Lightweight Tails. IEEE T ROBOT 2021. [DOI: 10.1109/tro.2020.3045644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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5
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Shield S, Jericevich R, Patel A, Jusufi A. Tails, Flails, and Sails: How Appendages Improve Terrestrial Maneuverability by Improving Stability. Integr Comp Biol 2021; 61:506-520. [PMID: 34050735 PMCID: PMC8633431 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icab108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2021] [Revised: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Trade-offs in maneuverability and stability are essential in ecologically relevant situations with respect to robustness of locomotion, with multiple strategies apparent in animal model systems depending on their habitat and ecology. Free appendages such as tails and ungrounded limbs may assist in navigating this trade-off by assisting with balance, thereby increasing the acceleration that can be achieved without destabilizing the body. This comparative analysis explores the inertial mechanisms and, in some cases, fluid dynamic mechanisms by which appendages contribute to the stabilization of gait and perturbation response behaviors in a wide variety of animals. Following a broad review of examples from nature and bio-inspired robotics that illustrate the importance of appendages to the control of body orientation, two specific cases are examined through preliminary experiments: the role of arm motion in bipedal gait termination is explored using trajectory optimization, and the role of the cheetah’s tail during a deceleration maneuver is analyzed based on motion capture data. In both these examples, forward rotation of the appendage in question is found to counteract the unwanted forward pitch caused by the braking forces. It is theorized that this stabilizing action may facilitate more rapid deceleration by allowing larger or longer-acting braking forces to be applied safely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacey Shield
- African Robotics Unit, University of Cape Town, South Africa
| | | | - Amir Patel
- African Robotics Unit, University of Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Ardian Jusufi
- African Robotics Unit, University of Cape Town, South Africa.,Locomotion in Biorobotic and Somatic Systems, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Heisenbergstrasse 3, 70569, Germany
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Liu Y, Ben-Tzvi P. Dynamic Modeling, Analysis, and Design Synthesis of a Reduced Complexity Quadruped with a Serpentine Robotic Tail. Integr Comp Biol 2021; 61:464-477. [PMID: 33999186 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icab083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Serpentine tail structures are widely observed in the animal kingdom and are thought to help animals to handle various motion tasks. Developing serpentine robotic tails and using them on legged robots has been an attractive idea for robotics. This article presents the theoretical analysis for such a robotic system that consists of a reduced complexity quadruped and a serpentine robotic tail. Dynamic model and motion controller are formulated first. Simulations are then conducted to analyze the tail's performance on the airborne righting and maneuvering tasks of the quadruped. Using the established simulation environment, systematic analyses on critical design parameters, namely, the tail mounting point, tail length, torso center of mass (COM) location, tail-torso mass ratio, and the power consumption distribution, are performed. The results show that the tail length and the mass ratio influence the maneuvering angle the most while the COM location affects the landing stability the most. Based on these design guidelines, for the current robot design, the optimal tail parameters are determined as a length of two times as long as the torso length and a weight of 0.09 times as heavy as the torso weight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujiong Liu
- Robotics and Mechatronics Lab, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
| | - Pinhas Ben-Tzvi
- Robotics and Mechatronics Lab, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
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Siddall R, Fukushima T, Bardhi D, Perteshoni B, Morina A, Hasimja E, Dujaka Y, Haziri G, Martin L, Banerjee H, Jusufi A. Compliance, mass distribution and contact forces in cursorial and scansorial locomotion with biorobotic physical models. Adv Robot 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/01691864.2021.1887760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Robert Siddall
- Locomotion in Biorobotic and Somatic Systems Group, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Toshihiko Fukushima
- Locomotion in Biorobotic and Somatic Systems Group, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Drilon Bardhi
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Prishtina ‘Hasan Prishtina’, Pristina, Kosovo
| | - Buna Perteshoni
- Department of Manufacturing, Des Moines Area Community College, Des Moines, USA
| | - Albulena Morina
- Faculty of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina”, Pristina, Kosovo
| | - Era Hasimja
- Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science, University for Business and Technology, Pristina, Kosovo
| | - Yll Dujaka
- Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina”, Pristina, Kosovo
| | - Gezim Haziri
- Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina”, Pristina, Kosovo
| | - Lina Martin
- Locomotion in Biorobotic and Somatic Systems Group, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Hritwick Banerjee
- Locomotion in Biorobotic and Somatic Systems Group, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Ardian Jusufi
- Locomotion in Biorobotic and Somatic Systems Group, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart, Germany
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Garant X, Gosselin C. Design and Experimental Validation of Reorientation Manoeuvres for a Free Falling Robot Inspired From the Cat Righting Reflex. IEEE T ROBOT 2021. [DOI: 10.1109/tro.2020.3031241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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9
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Xuan Q, Li C. Coordinated Appendages Accumulate More Energy to Self-Right on the Ground. IEEE Robot Autom Lett 2020. [DOI: 10.1109/lra.2020.3011389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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10
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Bound to help: cooperative manipulation of objects via compliant, unactuated tails. Auton Robots 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10514-018-9718-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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11
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Secer G, Saranli U. Control of Planar Spring–Mass Running Through Virtual Tuning of Radial Leg Damping. IEEE T ROBOT 2018. [DOI: 10.1109/tro.2018.2830394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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12
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De A, Koditschek DE. Vertical hopper compositions for preflexive and feedback-stabilized quadrupedal bounding, pacing, pronking, and trotting. Int J Rob Res 2018. [DOI: 10.1177/0278364918779874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
This paper applies an extension of classical averaging methods to hybrid dynamical systems, thereby achieving formally specified, physically effective and robust instances of all virtual bipedal gaits on a quadrupedal robot. Gait specification takes the form of a three parameter family of coupling rules mathematically shown to stabilize limit cycles in a low degree of freedom template: an abstracted pair of vertical hoppers whose relative phase locking encodes the desired physical leg patterns. These coupling rules produce the desired gaits when appropriately applied to the physical robot. The formal analysis reveals a distinct set of morphological regimes determined by the distribution of the body’s inertia within which particular phase relationships are naturally locked with no need for feedback stabilization (or, if undesired, must be countermanded by the appropriate feedback), and these regimes are shown empirically to analogously govern the physical machine as well. In addition to the mathematical stability analysis and data from physical experiments we summarize a number of extensive numerical studies that explore the relationship between the simple template and its more complicated anchoring body models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avik De
- Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Daniel E. Koditschek
- Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Abstract
SUMMARYThis paper reviews the state-of-the-art in robotic tails intended for inertial adjustment applications on-board mobile robots. Inspired by biological tails observed in nature, robotic tails provide a separate means to enhance stabilization, and maneuverability from the mobile robot's main form of locomotion, such as legs or wheels. Research over the past decade has primarily focused on implementing single-body rigid pendulum-like tail mechanisms to demonstrate inertial adjustment capabilities on-board walking, jumping and wheeled mobile robots. Recently, there have been increased efforts aimed at leveraging the benefits of both articulated and continuum tail mechanism designs to enhance inertial adjustment capabilities and further emulate the structure and functionalities of tail usage found in nature. This paper discusses relevant research in design, modeling, analysis and implementation of robotic tails onto mobile robots, and highlight how this work is being used to build robotic systems with enhanced performance capabilities. The goal of this article is to outline progress and identify key challenges that lay ahead.
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Abstract
This description of "soft robotics" is not intended to be a conventional review, in the sense of a comprehensive technical summary of a developing field. Rather, its objective is to describe soft robotics as a new field-one that offers opportunities to chemists and materials scientists who like to make "things" and to work with macroscopic objects that move and exert force. It will give one (personal) view of what soft actuators and robots are, and how this class of soft devices fits into the more highly developed field of conventional "hard" robotics. It will also suggest how and why soft robotics is more than simply a minor technical "tweak" on hard robotics and propose a unique role for chemistry, and materials science, in this field. Soft robotics is, at its core, intellectually and technologically different from hard robotics, both because it has different objectives and uses and because it relies on the properties of materials to assume many of the roles played by sensors, actuators, and controllers in hard robotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- George M Whitesides
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
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Affiliation(s)
- George M. Whitesides
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology; Harvard University; Cambridge MA USA
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