Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea.
Nat Commun. 2023 Jul 4;14(1):3942. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-39691-z.
Soft inflatable robots are a promising paradigm for applications that benefit from their inherent safety and adaptability. However, for perception, complex connections of rigid electronics both in hardware and software remain the mainstay. Although recent efforts have created soft analogs of individual rigid components, the integration of sensing and control systems is challenging to achieve without compromising the complete softness, form factor, or capabilities. Here, we report a soft self-sensing tensile valve that integrates the functional capabilities of sensors and control valves to directly transform applied tensile strain into distinctive steady-state output pressure states using only a single, constant pressure source. By harnessing a unique mechanism, "helical pinching", we derive physical sharing of both sensing and control valve structures, achieving all-in-one integration in a compact form factor. We demonstrate programmability and applicability of our platform, illustrating a pathway towards fully soft, electronics-free, untethered, and autonomous robotic systems.
软充气机器人是一种很有前途的范例,适用于从其固有安全性和适应性中受益的应用。然而,对于感知而言,硬件和软件中复杂的刚性电子设备的连接仍然是主要手段。尽管最近的努力已经创造出了单个刚性组件的软模拟物,但如果不牺牲完全的柔软性、外形因素或功能,就很难实现传感和控制系统的集成。在这里,我们报告了一种软自感拉伸阀,它集成了传感器和控制阀的功能,仅使用单个恒压源,就可以将施加的拉伸应变直接转化为独特的稳态输出压力状态。通过利用一种独特的机制“螺旋挤压”,我们得出了传感和控制阀结构的物理共享,以紧凑的外形实现了一体化集成。我们展示了我们平台的可编程性和适用性,为实现完全柔软、无电子、无束缚和自主机器人系统指明了道路。