Shen Zhong, Zhao Yafei, Zhong Hua, Tang Kailuan, Chen Yishan, Xiao Yin, Yi Juan, Liu Sicong, Wang Zheng
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Department of Computer Science, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Front Robot AI. 2021 Mar 10;7:616128. doi: 10.3389/frobt.2020.616128. eCollection 2020.
Soft robots are ideal for underwater manipulation in sampling and other servicing applications. Their unique features of compliance, adaptability, and being naturally waterproof enable robotic designs to be compact and lightweight, while achieving uncompromized dexterity and flexibility. However, the inherent flexibility and high nonlinearity of soft materials also results in combined complex motions, which creates both soft actuator and sensor challenges for force output, modeling, and sensory feedback, especially under highly dynamic underwater environments. To tackle these limitations, a novel Soft Origami Optical-Sensing Actuator (SOSA) with actuation and sensing integration is proposed in this paper. Inspired by origami art, the proposed sensorized actuator enables a large force output, contraction/elongation/passive bending actuation by fluid, and hybrid motion sensing with optical waveguides. The SOSA design brings two major novelties over current designs. First, it involves a new actuation-sensing mode which enables a superior large payload output and a robust and accurate sensing performance by introducing the origami design, significantly facilitating the integration of sensing and actuating technology for wider applications. Secondly, it simplifies the fabrication process for harsh environment application by investigating the boundary features between optical waveguides and ambient water, meaning the external cladding layer of traditional sensors is unnecessary. With these merits, the proposed actuator could be applied to harsh environments for complex interaction/operation tasks. To showcase the performance of the proposed SOSA actuator, a hybrid underwater 3-DOFs manipulator has been developed. The entire workflow on concept design, fabrication, modeling, experimental validation, and application are presented in detail as reference for wider effective robot-environment applications.
软机器人非常适合用于采样和其他服务应用中的水下操作。它们具有柔顺性、适应性以及天然防水等独特特性，这使得机器人设计能够紧凑且轻便，同时实现毫不妥协的灵巧性和灵活性。然而，软材料固有的柔韧性和高度非线性也会导致复杂的组合运动，这给力输出、建模以及传感反馈方面的软致动器和传感器都带来了挑战，尤其是在高度动态的水下环境中。为了解决这些限制，本文提出了一种具有驱动和传感集成功能的新型软折纸光学传感致动器（SOSA）。受折纸艺术启发，所提出的传感致动器能够实现大的力输出、通过流体进行收缩/伸长/被动弯曲驱动以及利用光波导进行混合运动传感。SOSA设计相对于当前设计带来了两个主要创新点。首先，它引入了一种新的驱动 - 传感模式，通过采用折纸设计实现了卓越的大负载输出以及强大且精确的传感性能，极大地促进了传感和驱动技术的集成，以实现更广泛的应用。其次，通过研究光波导与周围水之间的边界特征，简化了恶劣环境应用的制造过程，这意味着无需传统传感器的外部包层。凭借这些优点，所提出的致动器可应用于恶劣环境中的复杂交互/操作任务。为了展示所提出的SOSA致动器的性能，已经开发了一种混合水下三自由度操纵器。详细介绍了从概念设计、制造、建模、实验验证到应用的整个工作流程，作为更广泛有效的机器人 - 环境应用的参考。
