Jamming is a phenomenon in which a collectionof compliant elements is encased in an airtight envelope, anda vacuum-induced pressure enhances frictional and kinematiccoupling, resulting in dramatic changes in stiffness. This paperintroduces the jamming of square cross-sectioned fibers, whichallow for tunable and programmable anisotropic stiffness. Atheoretical model captures the effect of major geometric designparameters on the direction-variant bending stiffness of theselong and slender jamming elements. The model is experimen-tally validated, and a 13-fold stiffening in one direction anda 22-fold stiffening in the orthogonal direction is achievedwith a single jamming element. The performance of a square-fiber-jamming continuum robot structure is demonstrated in asteering task, with an average reduction of 74% in the measuredinsertion force when unjammed, and a direction-variant 53%or 100% increase in the measured tip stiffness when jammed.
Dynamically Reconfigurable Discrete Distributed Stiffness for Inflated Beam Robots
Inflated continuum robots are promising for a variety of navigation tasks, but controlling their motion with a small number of actuators is challenging. These inflated beam robots tend to buckle under compressive loads, producing extremely tight local curvature at difficult-to-control buckle point locations. In this paper, we present an inflated beam robot that uses distributed stiffness changing sections enabled by positive pressure layer jamming to control or prevent buckling. Passive valves are actuated by an electromagnet carried by an electromechanical device that travels inside the main inflated beam robot body. The valves themselves require no external connections or wiring, allowing the distributed stiffness control to be scaled to long beam lengths. Multiple layer jamming elements are stiffened simultaneously to achieve global stiffening, allowing the robot to support greater cantilevered loads and longer unsupported lengths. Local stiffening, achieved by leaving certain layer jamming elements unstiffened, allows the robot to produce "virtual joints" that dynamically change the robot kinematics. Implementing these stiffening strategies is compatible with growth through tip eversion and tendon steering, and enables a number of new capabilities for inflated beam robots and tip-everting robots.
- Award ID(s):
- 1637446
- Publication Date:
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10221274
- Journal Name:
- IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)
- Page Range or eLocation-ID:
- 9050 to 9056
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Abstract Continuous layer jamming is an effective tunable stiffness mechanism that utilizes vacuum to vary friction between laminates enclosed in a membrane. In this paper, we present a discrete layer jamming mechanism that is composed of a multilayered beam and multiple variable pressure clamps placed discretely along the beam; system stiffness can be varied by changing the pressure applied by the clamps. In comparison to continuous layer jamming, discrete layer jamming is simpler as it can be implemented with dynamic variable pressure actuators for faster control, better portability, and no sealing issues due to no need for an air supply. Design and experiments show that discrete layer jamming can be used for a variable stiffness co-robot arm. The concept is validated by quasi-static cantilever bending experiments. The measurements show that clamping 10% of the beam area with two clamps increases the bending stiffness by around 17 times when increasing the clamping pressure from 0 to 3 MPa. Computational case studies using finite element analysis for the five key parameters are presented, including clamp location, clamp width, number of laminates, friction coefficient, and number of clamps. Clamp location, number of clamps, and number of laminates are found to be most usefulmore »
-
Abstract Soft robots can undergo large elastic deformations and adapt to complex shapes. However, they lack the structural strength to withstand external loads due to the intrinsic compliance of fabrication materials (silicone or rubber). In this paper, we present a novel stiffness modulation approach that controls the robot’s stiffness on-demand without permanently affecting the intrinsic compliance of the elastomeric body. Inspired by concentric tube robots, this approach uses a Nitinol tube as the backbone, which can be slid in and out of the soft robot body to achieve robot pose or stiffness modulation. To validate the proposed idea, we fabricated a tendon-driven concentric tube (TDCT) soft robot and developed the model based on Cosserat rod theory. The model is validated in different scenarios by varying the joint-space tendon input and task-space external contact force. Experimental results indicate that the model is capable of estimating the shape of the TDCT soft robot with an average root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.90 (0.56% of total length) mm and average tip error of 1.49 (0.93% of total length) mm. Simulation studies demonstrate that the Nitinol backbone insertion can enhance the kinematic workspace and reduce the compliance of the TDCT soft robot by 57.7%. Twomore »
-
Soft-bodied animals, such as earthworms, are capable of contorting their body to squeeze through narrow spaces, create or enlarge burrows, and move on uneven ground. In many applications such as search and rescue, inspection of pipes and medical procedures, it may be useful to have a hollow-bodied robot with skin separating inside and outside. Textiles can be key to such skins. Inspired by earthworms, we developed two new robots: FabricWorm and MiniFabricWorm. We explored the application of fabric in soft robotics and how textile can be integrated along with other structural elements, such as three-dimensional (3D) printed parts, linear springs, and flexible nylon tubes. The structure of FabricWorm consists of one third the number of rigid pieces as compared to its predecessor Compliant Modular Mesh Worm-Steering (CMMWorm-S), while the structure of MiniFabricWorm consists of no rigid components. This article presents the design of such a mesh and its limitations in terms of structural softness. We experimentally measured the stiffness properties of these robots and compared them directly to its predecessors. FabricWorm and MiniFabricWorm are capable of peristaltic locomotion with a maximum speed of 33 cm/min (0.49 body-lengths/min) and 13.8 cm/min (0.25 body-lengths/min), respectively.
-
Abstract Emerging polymeric foams exhibiting unique microstructure of microspherical shells with reinforcing dense microspheres creates a new opportunity for impact-tolerant foam paddings in sport gears applications. This paper describes the static response of reinforced microcell consisting of an outer spherical shell and uniformly distributed microspheres while quantifying the stiffening effect. The distribution of the microspheres is illustrated using the Fourier series, allowing tuning of the reinforcing strategy. Expressions of the external and internal works are derived, whereas the Ritz energy method is adopted to calculate the deformations due to a compressive load distributed over a range of areas. Emphasis is given to the effect of the geometrical attributes of the microcell and the reinforcing microspheres on the resulting deformation response and stiffening effect. The framework is used to investigate the response of several case studies to elucidate the effects of relative radii ratio, reinforcement density, microcell wall thickness, and loading configurations on the stiffness. A new normalized strain energy parameter is introduced to simplify and accelerate the analysis while providing insights on the underpinnings of the observed buckling response. The results strongly suggest the viability of the newly discovered foam microstructure in managing static loads while providing an opportunity tomore »
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Publisher's Version of Record
- https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA40945.2020.9197237
