Cortez Ricardo, Sandoval-Chileño Marco Antonio, Lozada-Castillo Norma, Luviano-Juárez Alberto
Unidad Profesional Interdisciplinaria en Ingeniería y Tecnologías Avanzadas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City 07340, Mexico.
Unidad Profesional Interdisciplinaria de Energía y Movilidad, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City 07738, Mexico.
Biomimetics (Basel). 2024 Mar 16;9(3):180. doi: 10.3390/biomimetics9030180.
This study presents the design and evaluation of a prototype snake-like robot that possesses an actuation system based on shape memory alloys (SMAs). The device is constructed based on a modular structure of links connected by two degrees of freedom links utilizing Cardan joints, where each degree of freedom is actuated by an agonist-antagonist mechanism using the SMA spring-shaped actuators to generate motion, which can be easily replaced once they reach a degradation point. The methodology for programming the spring shape into the SMA material is described in this work, as well as the instrumentation required for the monitoring and control of the actuators. A simplified design is presented to describe the way in which the motion is performed and the technical difficulties faced in manufacturing. Based on this information, the way in which the design is adapted to generate a feasible robotic system is described, and a mathematical model for the robot is developed to implement an independent joint controller. The feasibility of the implementation of the SMA actuators regarding the motion of the links is verified for the case of a joint, and the change in the shape of the snake robot is verified through the implementation of a set of tracking references based on a central pattern generator. The generated tracking results confirm the feasibility of the proposed mechanism in terms of performing snake gaits, as well as highlighting some of the drawbacks that should be considered in further studies.
本研究介绍了一种基于形状记忆合金（SMA）的驱动系统的蛇形机器人原型的设计与评估。该装置基于一种模块化结构构建，通过利用万向节的两自由度连杆连接各个连杆，其中每个自由度由一种使用SMA弹簧形致动器的拮抗机制驱动以产生运动，一旦这些致动器达到退化点就可以很容易地进行更换。本文描述了将弹簧形状编程到SMA材料中的方法，以及监测和控制致动器所需的仪器。给出了一种简化设计，以描述运动的执行方式以及制造过程中面临的技术难题。基于这些信息，描述了如何调整设计以生成一个可行的机器人系统，并开发了机器人的数学模型以实现独立关节控制器。针对一个关节的情况，验证了SMA致动器对于连杆运动的实现可行性，并通过基于中央模式发生器实现一组跟踪参考来验证蛇形机器人形状的变化。生成的跟踪结果证实了所提出的机构在执行蛇形步态方面的可行性，同时也突出了在进一步研究中应考虑的一些缺点。
