Article
Automation & Control Systems
Lukas Lindenroth, Danail Stoyanov, Kawal Rhode, Hongbin Liu
Summary: This study investigates the intrinsic sensing and subsequent control of contact forces in a hydraulic parallel soft robot. An algorithm for static, quasi-static, and dynamic force sensing is derived and validated for a single actuator. The results demonstrate accurate estimation of axial forces, and the force sensing methodology is applied to force control.
IEEE-ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Siyi Xu, Yufeng Chen, Nak-seung P. Hyun, Kaitlyn P. Becker, Robert J. Wood
Summary: An electrically powered soft valve for hydraulic actuators has been developed using ultrahigh-power density dynamic dielectric elastomer actuators, enabling effective control of pressure and flow rate with rapid response time. These valves can adjust flow rate based on driving voltage, allowing independent control of different hydraulic actuators.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Robotics
Max McCandless, Alexander Perry, Nicholas DiFilippo, Ashlyn Carroll, Ehab Billatos, Sheila Russo
Summary: The study introduces a one degree of freedom soft robot designed for diagnostic and interventional tasks in the deeper periphery of the lung, with integrated vision sensing. It can be deployed through commercial bronchoscopes or used as a stand-alone system, offering better reachability in navigating branches deeper in the lung compared to current devices.
Article
Robotics
Tao Jin, Tianhong Wang, Quan Xiong, Yingzhong Tian, Long Li, Quan Zhang, Chen-Hua Yeow
Summary: Recent advances in soft robotics have demonstrated the need for modular actuation to enable rapid replacement of actuators and extend functionality. This article presents three types of vacuum-driven soft actuators with a cubic shape and different origami skins, featuring contraction, bending, and twisting-contraction combined motions. These actuators can be directly fabricated by molding silicone shell and constraint layers together, and their shape consistency allows for further modularization via mortise and tenon-based structures. Several types of modular soft robots are created to achieve fragile object manipulation and locomotion, showcasing their potential applications.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Min Zou, Sitong Li, Xiaoyu Hu, Xueqi Leng, Run Wang, Xiang Zhou, Zunfeng Liu
Summary: Soft actuators play a crucial role in the development of soft robots and intelligent systems, capable of achieving tensile and torsional actuations in various ways. The demand for multifunctional actuators is also increasing, requiring integration of driving, sensing, and control functions.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jiaqing Xiong, Jian Chen, Pooi See Lee
Summary: Soft robotics inspired by living organisms' movement offer excellent adaptability and accuracy, making them highly desirable for efficient operations and safe interactions with humans. Advances in wearable electronics have led to a pursuit for higher tactility and skin affinity for safe and user-friendly human-robot interactions. The utilization of dynamic fibers and fabrics in soft-robots and wearables is becoming increasingly favored for their active stimulus responses.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Daniel Van Lewen, Taylor Janke, Harin Lee, Ryan Austin, Ehab Billatos, Sheila Russo
Summary: Soft robotics has gained interest as surgical tools due to their safe interactions with the body, but their feasibility is limited in force transmission. A soft robot with tip steering, stabilization, and needle deployment capabilities is proposed for lung tissue biopsy procedures. The design, fabrication, and modeling of this soft robotic platform allow for integration into a 3.5 mm diameter system. Characterizations and in vitro experiments validate the proposed workflow and capabilities in a simulated surgical setting.
ADVANCED INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Hesheng Wang, Hang Ni, Jingchuan Wang, Weidong Chen
Summary: A hybrid vision force controller is proposed in this article for interaction control of soft robots. By calculating the Jacobian of soft robots to describe the relationship between actuation and tip motion, and using vision and force feedback to achieve visual servo and force control, the stability of the controller is verified both theoretically and experimentally.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CONTROL SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Bing Han, Zhuo-Chen Ma, Yong-Lai Zhang, Lin Zhu, Hua Fan, Benfeng Bai, Qi-Dai Chen, Guang-Zhong Yang, Hong-Bo Sun
Summary: Soft robots controlled by different actuation schemes are developing rapidly due to the advancement of smart materials. A hybrid magnetically and photothermally responsive actuator with high degrees of freedom has been proposed to address the challenge of internal energy distribution and rapid kinetic energy release. This manipulation strategy shows great promise for sophisticated actuation of soft robots.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Robotics
Nitish Kumar, Jackson Wirekoh, Samir Saba, Cameron N. Riviere, Yong-Lae Park
Summary: This article addresses the challenging task of miniaturizing both actuation and sensing for integration into flexible catheters, presenting novel soft thick-walled cylindrical actuators with embedded sensing using eutectic gallium-indium. The functional catheter tips can generate and detect forces, allowing for tracking and control of contact force, potentially making AF procedures safer and more accurate.
Article
Robotics
Jennifer M. Boothby, Jarod C. Gagnon, Emil McDowell, Tessa Van Volkenburg, Luke Currano, Zhiyong Xia
Summary: The research developed a soft robot utilizing LCE actuators, onboard power, and wireless Bluetooth control, showcasing over 20% repeatable strain and maximizing robot movement efficiency. By adjusting the control and programming of the LCE actuators, path and direction control of the robot was achieved, with the potential for payload transport or carrying additional battery storage.
Article
Robotics
Fatemeh Zahedi, Dongjune Chang, Hyunglae Lee
Summary: This letter introduces a user-adaptive variable damping controller that improves the overall performance of coupled human-robot systems during physical interaction. Bayesian optimization is used to evaluate and optimize the controller performance, considering the uncertainty of human behaviors and noisy observations. Experiments with a robotic arm manipulator show that the adaptive control strategy significantly reduces energy expenditure and improves stability, agility, and user effort.
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Diego Bianchi, Michele Gabrio Antonelli, Cecilia Laschi, Angelo Maria Sabatini, Egidio Falotico
Summary: The article presents a soft robot control system capable of throwing objects accurately towards target positions through the use of deep reinforcement learning. A neural network is deployed to learn the relationship between the actuation pattern and the target landing position, and a reinforcement learning method is then used to predict the actuation pattern. The proposed controller showed a success rate of almost 65% in tossing various objects, and the study contributes to the advancement of soft robots in performing complex tasks in everyday life and industry.
IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE
(2023)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Jaeyeon Jeong, Kyujin Hyeon, Jungwoo Han, Cheol Hoon Park, So-Young Ahn, Soo-Kyung Bok, Ki-Uk Kyung
Summary: This article proposes an artificial muscle based on shape memory alloy (SMA) with an active cooling system. It also introduces a soft wearable robot that uses multiple SMA muscles to assist wrist motion.
IEEE-ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS
(2022)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Chao Zeng, Hang Su, Yanan Li, Jing Guo, Chenguang Yang
Summary: This article presents a novel representation model called human-like compliant movement primitives (Hl-CMPs), inspired by a biomimetic adaptive control strategy, which allows a robot to learn human-like compliant behaviors. By learning movement trajectories obtained from human demonstration, the robot can simultaneously learn impedance and force, and represent skills in a parametric manner.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL INFORMATICS
(2022)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Lionel Clavien, Michel Lauria, Francois Michaud
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2018)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Lionel Clavien, Michel Lauria, Francois Michaud
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2018)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
F. Michaud, P. Boissy, D. Labonte, S. Briere, K. Perreault, H. Corriveau, A. Grant, M. Lauria, R. Cloutier, M-A Roux, D. Iannuzzi, M-P Royer, F. Ferland, F. Pomerleau, D. Letourneau
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Julien Fremy, Francois Ferland, Michel Lauria, Francois Michaud
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2014)
Proceedings Paper
Engineering, Industrial
G. Walder, D. Fulliquet, N. Foukia, F. Jaquenod, M. Lauria, R. Rozsnyo, B. Lavazais, R. Perez
19TH CIRP CONFERENCE ON ELECTRO PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL MACHINING
(2018)
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Stephane Claude Gobron, Nicolas Zannini, Nicolas Wenk, Carl Schmitt, Yannick Charrotton, Aurelien Fauquex, Michel Lauria, Francis Degache, Rolf Frischknecht
AUGMENTED AND VIRTUAL REALITY, AVR 2015
(2015)
Proceedings Paper
Engineering, Biomedical
Patrick Boissy, Simon Briere, Helene Corriveau, Andrew Grant, Michel Lauria, Francois Michaud
2011 ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY (EMBC)
(2011)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
R Siegwart, P Lamon, T Estier, M Lauria, R Piguet
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2002)
