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Title: Controlling the Rotational DOF of Laminar Jamming Structures With End Clamping Mechanism
Abstract Variable stiffness structures lie at the nexus of soft robots and traditional robots as they enable the execution of both high-force tasks and delicate manipulations. Laminar jamming structures, which consist of thin flexible sheets encased in a sealed chamber, can alternate between a rigid state when a vacuum is applied and a flexible state when the layers are allowed to slide in the absence of a pressure gradient. In this work, an additional mode of controllability is added by clamping and unclamping the ends of a simple laminar jamming beam structure. Previous works have focused on the translational degree of freedom that may be controlled via vacuum pressure; here we introduce a rotational degree of freedom that may be independently controlled with a clamping mechanism. Preliminary results demonstrate the ability to switch between three states: high stiffness (under vacuum), translational freedom (with clamped ends, no vacuum), and rotational freedom (with ends free to slide, no vacuum).  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1734117
PAR ID:
10206734
Author(s) / Creator(s):
;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
ASME Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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