Li Yunquan, Chen Yonghua, Ren Tao, Li Yingtian, Choi Shiu Hong
1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong , Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong .
2 Robotics Research Center, Xihua University , Chengdu, Sichuan, China .
Soft Robot. 2018 Oct;5(5):567-575. doi: 10.1089/soro.2017.0090. Epub 2018 Jun 20.
The past decade has witnessed tremendous progress in soft robotics. Unlike most pneumatic-based methods, we present a new approach to soft robot design based on precharged pneumatics (PCP). We propose a PCP soft bending actuator, which is actuated by precharged air pressure and retracted by inextensible tendons. By pulling or releasing the tendons, the air pressure in the soft actuator is modulated, and hence, its bending angle. The tendons serve in a way similar to pressure-regulating valves that are used in typical pneumatic systems. The linear motion of tendons is transduced into complex motion via the prepressurized bent soft actuator. Furthermore, since a PCP actuator does not need any gas supply, complicated pneumatic control systems used in traditional soft robotics are eliminated. This facilitates the development of compact untethered autonomous soft robots for various applications. Both theoretical modeling and experimental validation have been conducted on a sample PCP soft actuator design. A fully untethered autonomous quadrupedal soft robot and a soft gripper have been developed to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed approach over traditional pneumatic-driven soft robots.
在过去十年中，软体机器人技术取得了巨大进展。与大多数基于气动的方法不同，我们提出了一种基于预充气压（PCP）的软体机器人设计新方法。我们提出了一种PCP软弯曲致动器，它由预充气压驱动，并由不可伸长的肌腱缩回。通过拉动或释放肌腱，可以调节软致动器中的气压，从而调节其弯曲角度。肌腱的作用类似于典型气动系统中使用的压力调节阀。肌腱的直线运动通过预加压的弯曲软致动器转换为复杂运动。此外，由于PCP致动器不需要任何气体供应，因此消除了传统软体机器人中使用的复杂气动控制系统。这有利于开发用于各种应用的紧凑、无束缚的自主软体机器人。已经对一个示例PCP软致动器设计进行了理论建模和实验验证。已经开发了一个完全无束缚的自主四足软体机器人和一个软夹爪，以证明所提出的方法相对于传统气动驱动软体机器人的优越性。
