As the domains, in which robots operate change the objects a robot may be required to grasp and manipulate, are likely to vary sig- nificantly and often. Furthermore there is increasing likelihood that in the future r...As the domains, in which robots operate change the objects a robot may be required to grasp and manipulate, are likely to vary sig- nificantly and often. Furthermore there is increasing likelihood that in the future robots will work collaboratively alongside people. There has therefore been interest in the development of biologically inspired robot designs which take inspiration from nature. This paper pre- sents the design and testing of a variable stiffness, three fingered soft gripper, which uses pneumatic muscles to actuate the fingers and granular jamming to vary their stiffness. This gripper is able to adjust its stiffness depending upon how fragile/deformable the object being grasped is. It is also lightweight and low inertia, making it better suited to operation near people. Each finger is formed from a cylindrical rubber bladder filled with a granular material. It is shown how decreasing the pressure inside the finger increases the jamming effect and raises finger stiffness. The paper shows experimentally how the finger stiffness can be increased from 21 N·m^-1 to 71 N·m^-1. The paper also describes the kinematics of the fingers and demonstrates how they can be position-controlled at a range of different stiffness values.展开更多
This paper deals with two novel structures for mobile robots. The original inspiration of the robots comes from a sala- mander and a specific kind of spiders. Our robots have some especial moving capabilities causing ...This paper deals with two novel structures for mobile robots. The original inspiration of the robots comes from a sala- mander and a specific kind of spiders. Our robots have some especial moving capabilities causing to increase the robot ma- neuverability. Indeed, the capability of rolling motion is added to ordinary quadruped robots. This capability causes increment in maneuvering of the robots. Manipulators can be embedded into the robots to add the ability of transferring materials into the shell and conducting some tasks such as repairing. In this paper, after analysis of motion principles of the rolling robots, their dynanlic equations are derived. Different simulations of two bioinspired mobile robots are presented in order to scrutinize various capabilities of the proposed designs. Walking capabilities of the robots and their advantages are discussed in detail. The comprehensive simulation results of the robots in various motion modes are presented. Finally the first prototype is introduced to verify the motion mechanisms.展开更多
文摘As the domains, in which robots operate change the objects a robot may be required to grasp and manipulate, are likely to vary sig- nificantly and often. Furthermore there is increasing likelihood that in the future robots will work collaboratively alongside people. There has therefore been interest in the development of biologically inspired robot designs which take inspiration from nature. This paper pre- sents the design and testing of a variable stiffness, three fingered soft gripper, which uses pneumatic muscles to actuate the fingers and granular jamming to vary their stiffness. This gripper is able to adjust its stiffness depending upon how fragile/deformable the object being grasped is. It is also lightweight and low inertia, making it better suited to operation near people. Each finger is formed from a cylindrical rubber bladder filled with a granular material. It is shown how decreasing the pressure inside the finger increases the jamming effect and raises finger stiffness. The paper shows experimentally how the finger stiffness can be increased from 21 N·m^-1 to 71 N·m^-1. The paper also describes the kinematics of the fingers and demonstrates how they can be position-controlled at a range of different stiffness values.
文摘This paper deals with two novel structures for mobile robots. The original inspiration of the robots comes from a sala- mander and a specific kind of spiders. Our robots have some especial moving capabilities causing to increase the robot ma- neuverability. Indeed, the capability of rolling motion is added to ordinary quadruped robots. This capability causes increment in maneuvering of the robots. Manipulators can be embedded into the robots to add the ability of transferring materials into the shell and conducting some tasks such as repairing. In this paper, after analysis of motion principles of the rolling robots, their dynanlic equations are derived. Different simulations of two bioinspired mobile robots are presented in order to scrutinize various capabilities of the proposed designs. Walking capabilities of the robots and their advantages are discussed in detail. The comprehensive simulation results of the robots in various motion modes are presented. Finally the first prototype is introduced to verify the motion mechanisms.
