Moran Anna Maria, Vo Vi T, McDonald Kevin J, Sultania Pranav, Langenbrunner Eva, Chong Jun Hong Vince, Naik Amartya, Kinnicutt Lorenzo, Li Jingshuo, Ranzani Tommaso
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Commun Eng. 2024 Aug 23;3(1):117. doi: 10.1038/s44172-024-00251-y.
To achieve coordinated functions, fluidic soft robots typically rely on multiple input lines for the independent inflation and deflation of each actuator. Fluidic actuators are controlled by rigid electronic pneumatic valves, restricting the mobility and compliance of the soft robot. Recent developments in soft valve designs have shown the potential to achieve a more integrated robotic system, but are limited by high energy consumption and slow response time. In this work, we present an electropermanent magnet (EPM) valve for electronic control of pneumatic soft actuators that is activated through microsecond electronic pulses. The valve incorporates a thin channel made from thermoplastic films. The proposed valve (3 × 3 × 0.8 cm, 2.9 g) can block pressure up to 146 kPa and negative pressures up to -100 kPa with a response time of less than 1 s. Using the EPM valves, we demonstrate the ability to switch between multiple operation sequences in real time through the control of a six-DoF robot capable of grasping and hopping with a single pressure input. Our proposed onboard control strategy simplifies the operation of multi-pressure systems, enabling the development of dynamically programmable soft fluid-driven robots that are versatile in responding to different tasks.
为实现协同功能，流体软机器人通常依靠多条输入线路来独立控制每个致动器的充气和放气。流体致动器由刚性电子气动阀控制，这限制了软机器人的机动性和柔顺性。软阀设计的最新进展显示了实现更集成机器人系统的潜力，但受高能耗和慢响应时间的限制。在这项工作中，我们展示了一种用于气动软致动器电子控制的电永磁（EPM）阀，它通过微秒级电子脉冲激活。该阀包含一个由热塑性薄膜制成的薄通道。所提出的阀（3×3×0.8厘米，2.9克）能够在压力高达146千帕和负压高达-100千帕时进行阻断，响应时间小于1秒。使用EPM阀，我们展示了通过控制一个能够单压力输入下抓取和跳跃的六自由度机器人实时在多个操作序列之间切换的能力。我们提出的机载控制策略简化了多压力系统的操作，使得能够开发出在响应不同任务时具有通用性的动态可编程软流体驱动机器人。
