English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Robots built from soft materials can alter their shape and size in aparticular profile. This shape-changing ability could be extremely helpful forrescue robots and those operating in unknown terrains and environments. Inchanging shape, soft materials also store and release elastic energy, a featurethat can be exploited for effective robot movement. However, design and controlof these moving soft robots are non-trivial. The research presents designmethodology for a 3D-printed, motor-tendon actuated soft robot capable oflocomotion. In addition to shape change, the robot uses friction manipulationmechanisms to effect locomotion. The motor-tendon actuators comprise of nylontendons embedded inside the soft body structure along a given path with one endfixed on the body and the other attached to a motor. These actuators directlycontrol the deformation of the soft body which influences the robot locomotionbehavior. Static stress analysis is used as a tool for designing the shape ofthe paths of these tendons embedded inside the body. The research also presentsa novel model-free learning-based control approach for soft robots whichinteract with the environment at discrete contact points. This approachinvolves discretization of factors dominating robot-environment interactions asstates, learning of the results as robot transitions between these robot statesand evaluation of desired periodic state control sequences optimizing a costfunction corresponding to a locomotion task (rotation or translation). Theclever discretization allows the framework to exist in robot's task space,hence, facilitating calculation of control sequences without modeling theactuator, body material or details of the friction mechanisms. The flexibilityof the framework is experimentally explored by applying it to robots withdifferent friction mechanisms and different shapes of tendon paths.

Design and locomotion control of soft robot using friction manipulation and motor-tendon actuation