Bioinspired Multifunctional Self-Sensing Actuated Gradient Hydrogel for Soft-Hard Robot Remote Interaction

The development of bioinspired gradient hydrogels with self-sensing actuated capabilities for remote interaction with soft-hard robots remains a challenging endeavor. Here, we propose a novel multifunctional self-sensing actuated gradient hydrogel that combines ultrafast actuation and high sensitivity for remote interaction with robotic hand. The gradient network structure, achieved through a wettability difference method involving the rapid precipitation of MoO_(2) nanosheets, introduces hydrophilic disparities between two sides within hydrogel. This distinctive approach bestows the hydrogel with ultrafast thermo-responsive actuation(21° s^(-1)) and enhanced photothermal efficiency(increase by 3.7 ℃ s^(-1) under 808 nm near-infrared). Moreover, the local cross-linking of sodium alginate with Ca^(2+) endows the hydrogel with programmable deformability and information display capabilities. Additionally, the hydrogel exhibits high sensitivity(gauge factor 3.94 within a wide strain range of 600%), fast response times(140 ms) and good cycling stability. Leveraging these exceptional properties, we incorporate the hydrogel into various soft actuators, including soft gripper, artificial iris, and bioinspired jellyfish, as well as wearable electronics capable of precise human motion and physiological signal detection. Furthermore, through the synergistic combination of remarkable actuation and sensitivity, we realize a self-sensing touch bioinspired tongue. Notably, by employing quantitative analysis of actuation-sensing, we realize remote interaction between soft-hard robot via the Internet of Things. The multifunctional self-sensing actuated gradient hydrogel presented in this study provides a new insight for advanced somatosensory materials, self-feedback intelligent soft robots and human–machine interactions.

Vibration Control of a Composite Beam Using Self-sensing Semi-active Approach

Structural vibration control was an active research area for the past twenty years because of their potential applications in aerospace structures,civil structures,naval structures,etc.Semi-active vibration control methods based on piezoelectric actuators and synchronized switch damping on inductance（SSDI） techniques attract the attention of many researchers recently due to their advantages over passive and active methods.In the SSDI method,a switch shunt circuit is connected to the piezoelectric patch to shift the phase and amplify the magnitude of the voltage on the piezoelectric patch.The most important issue in SSDI method is to control the switching actions synchronously with the maximum vibration displacement or maximum strain.Hence,usually a displacement sensor is used to measure the vibration displacement or a collocated piezoelectric sensor is needed to measure the strain of the structure near the piezoelectric actuator.A self-sensing SSDI approach is proposed and applied to the vibration control of a composite beam,which avoids using a separate sensor.In the self-sensing technique,the same piezoelectric element functions as both a sensor and an actuator so that the total number of required piezoelectric elements can be reduced.One problem in the self-sensing actuator,which is the same as that in the traditional collocated piezoelectric sensors,is the noise generated in the sensor signal by the impact of voltage inversion,which may cause extra switching actions and deteriorate control performance.In order to prevent the shunt circuit from over-frequent on-and-off actions,a simple switch control algorithm is proposed.The results of control experiments show that the self-sensing SSDI approach combined with the improved switch control algorithm can effectively suppress over-frequent switching actions and gives good control performance by reducing the vibration amplitude by 45%,about 50% improvement from the traditional SSDI with a separate piezoelectric element and a classical switch.

DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF A CANTILEVER BEAM WITH PARTIAL SELF-SENSING ACTIVE CONSTRAINED LAYER DAMPING TREATMENT

The equations of motion governing the vibration of a cantilever beam with partially treated self-sensing active constrained layer damping treatment(SACLD) are derived by application of the extended Hamilton principle. The assumed-modes method and closed loop velocity feedback control law are used to analyze and control the flexural vibration of the beam nle influences of the bonding layer and piezoelectric layer thickness, material properties, placements of the Diezoelectric patch and feedback control parameters on the actuation ability of the vibration suppression are investigated. Some design considerations for pure passive, pure active control, and self-sensing active constrained layer damping are discussed.

Modelling self-sensing of a magnetostrictive actuator based on a terfenol-D rod

A simplified quasi-static computational model for self-sensing applications of magnetostrictive actuators based on terfenol-D rods is presented. Paths and angle changes in the magnetic moments rotation of Tb0.3Dy0.7Fe2 alloy are studied as functions of compressive stress and magnetic field, and then used to determine the magnetization in its actuation. Then sensing of magnetic induction picked from a driving coil in an actuator is derived. The model is quick and efficient to solve moments rotation and its magnetization. Sensing results of compressive stress and magnetostriction calculated by the model are in good agreement with experiments and will be helpful in the design and control of self-sensing applications in actuators.

Fault-tolerant finite-time dynamical consensus of double-integrator multi-agent systems with partial agents subject to synchronous self-sensing function failure

This paper investigates fault-tolerant finite-time dynamical consensus problems of double-integrator multi-agent systems(MASs)with partial agents subject to synchronous self-sensing function failure(SSFF).A strategy of recovering the connectivity of network topology among normal agents based on multi-hop communication and a fault-tolerant finitetime dynamical consensus protocol with time-varying gains are proposed to resist synchronous SSFF.It is proved that double-integrator MASs with partial agents subject to synchronous SSFF using the proposed strategy of network topology connectivity recovery and fault-tolerant finite-time dynamical consensus protocol with the proper time-varying gains can achieve finite-time dynamical consensus.Numerical simulations are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.

Research on Micro-Flow Self-Sensing Actuators Based on Piezoelectric Ceramic Stack `

The paper is concerned with the micro-flow self-sensing actuators,the work of which is based on the secondary piezoelectric effect. The piezoelectric ceramic stack can yield micro-displacement due to its first inverse piezoelectric effect. Therefore,we apply this micro-displacement to cell micro-flow injection. Moreover, due to the charge of the secondary direct piezoelectric effect,the piezoelectric ceramic stack is able to detect the force and displacement in the injection by itself. The experiments of first inverse piezoelectric effect and secondary direct piezoelectric effect are conducted. The experiment results show that,subjected to 0- 60 V input,the piezoelectric ceramic stack can generate 13. 45 μm displacement,and control accuracy can achieve 2 nm. It can completely meet the needs of cell micro-flow injection. Also,the experiments demonstrate that the micro-displacement due to the first inverse piezoelectric effect can be well self-sensed by the electric charge due to the secondary direct piezoelectric effect.

Self-Sensing TDR for Bearing Failure Detection of CFRP Laminate Fastener Hole with Particular Reference to the Effect of Fasteners

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites (CFRP) have been applied to aerospace and automobile structures. For many CFRP structures, mechanical metallic fasteners are usually adopted. For the fasteners used in internal structures such as a wing box, the damage to the CFRP structures around fastener holes is visually quite difficult to find. A simple method to find the damage around fastener holes is required. In this study a self-sensing time domain reflectometry (TDR) method is newly applied to detect bearing failure around the fastener holes of CFRP structures. A microstrip-line method is generally used to create a transmission line. When the transmission line is mounted near the metallic fasteners, they may affect the impedance of the transmission line. In this study, the effect of distance between the fasteners and the transmission line was numerically investigated using a finite difference time domain analysis method. After finding the appropriate distance, experiments were performed to detect the bearing failure around a fastener hole. The experiments showed the performance of the self-sensing TDR for detecting bearing failure.

Self-Sensing Curved Micro-Strip Line Method for Damage Detection of CFRP Composites

A self-sensing Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) method for Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) laminates has been propped in the present study: carbon fibres are used as sensors using a transmission line. Authors have published research articles of the self-sensing TDR method. The self-sensing TDR method reduces number of required electrodes for damage detections although the sensitivity of detection is sacrificed. A micro-strip line (MSL) method is adopted to obtain impedance matching with a coaxial cable and successfully detected damage in a CFRP laminate in the previous study. In the present study, a long curved MSL is experimentally investigated as an impedance-matched transmission line for detection of damage of a CFRP laminate in wider area. Fibre breakage is simulated as a hole made by drilling. As a CFRP laminate has strongly orthotropic electric conductance and the electric properties of a CFRP laminate at the high frequency are not clarified, the effect of the orthotropic conductance at the curved transmission line is experimentally investigated. As a result, the effect of orthotropic conductance at the curved strip line is shown to be negligible, and fiber breakage that locates closed to the copper strip line can be detected by the self-sensing curved MSL method. It is, however, difficult to detect damage far from the copper strip line.

Self-sensing actuators with programmable actuation performances for soft robots

Designing soft robots that are able to perceive unstructured,dynamic environments and their deformations has been a long-term goal.Previously reported self-sensing soft actuators were mostly constructed via integrating separate actuators and sensors.The actuation performances and the sensing reliability are affected owing to the unmatched materials and weak connections.Realizing a seamless integration of soft actuators and sensors remains a grand challenge.Here,we report a fabrication strategy to endow soft actuators with sensing capability and programmable actuation performances.The foam inside the actuator functions as actuator and sensor simultaneously,effectively addressing the conformability and connection reliability issues that existed in current self-sensing actuators.The actuators are lightweight(a decrease of 58%in weight),powerful(lifting a load of 433 times of its own weight),and versatile(coupling twisting and contraction motions).Furthermore,the actuators are able to detect multiple physical stimuli with high reliability,demonstrating their exteroception and proprioception capability.Two self-sensing soft robotic prototypes,including a bionic bicep and a bionic neck,are constructed to illustrate their multifunctionality.Our study opens up new possibilities for the design of soft actuators and has promising potential in a variety of applications,ranging from human-robot interaction,soft orthotics,to wearable robotics.

Detection of avian influenza virus H9N_(2) based on self-driving and self-sensing microcantilever piezoelectric sensor

In this article, we used the self-excitation and self-inductance characteristics of polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF) piezoelectric materials, combined with the powerful signal processing and calculation analysis capabilities of integrated circuits, for the first time to explore a set of microcantilever sensor "readout system" without additional driver(self-driving) and can realize self-sensing external signal(self-sensing).It was successfully applied to the unlabeled detection of avian influenza virus(AIV) H9N_(2). The specific force of the antigen-antibody complexes on the surface of the microcantilever leads to the change of the stress of the cantilever, which drives the constructed detection device, and does not require an additional excitation source to drive it, that is, the self-driving part. At the same time, due to the movement of piezoelectric charges in the film caused by the positive piezoelectric effect of the PVDF film, self-inductive charges are generated on the surface of the sensor dielectric. The charge signal is converted into a voltage signal, and the sensing part is completed, that is, self-sensing. The immunosensor has a linear range of100-1000 ng/m L with a detection limit of 2.9 ng/m L. The method will also open up a new avenue for the detection of other analytes based on antigen-antibody responses.

Self-sensing active magnetic bearing using real-time duty cycle

In a self-sensing active magnetic bearing (AMB) system driven by pulse width modulation (PWM) switching power amplifiers, the rotor position information can be extracted from coil current and voltage signals by a specific signal demodulation process. In this study, to reduce the complexity of hardware, the coil voltage signal was not filtered but measured in the form of a duty cycle by the eCAP port of DSP (TMS320F28335). A mathematical model was established to provide the relationship between rotor position, current ripple, and duty cycle. Theoretical analysis of the amplitude-frequency characteristic of the coil current at the switching frequency was presented using Fourier series, Jacobi-Anger identity, and Bessel function. Experimental results showed that the time-varying duty cycle causes infinite side frequencies around the switching frequency. The side frequency interval depends on the varying frequency of the duty cycle. Rotor position can be calculated by measuring the duty cycle and demodulating the coil current ripple. With this self-sensing strategy, the rotor system supported by AMBs can steadily rotate at a speed of 3000 r/min.

Multifunctional characteristics of 3D printed polymer nanocomposites under monotonic and cyclic compression

This study presents the multifunctional characteristics of multi-walled carbon nanotube(MWCNT)/polypropylene random copolymer(PPR) composites enabled via fused filament fabrication(FFF) under monotonic and quasi-static cyclic compression. Utilizing in-house MWCNT-engineered PPR filament feedstocks, both bulk and cellular composites were realized. The morphological features of nanocomposites were examined via scanning electron microscopy, which reveals that MWCNTs are uniformly dispersed. The uniformly dispersed MWCNTs forms an electrically conductive network within the PPR matrix, and the resulting nanocomposite shows good electrical conductivity(~10^(-1)S/cm), improved mechanical performance(modulus increases by 125% and compressive strength increases by 25% for 8 wt% MWCNT loading) and pronounced piezoresistive response(gauge factor of 27.9-8.5 for bulk samples)under compression. The influence of strain rate on the piezoresistive response of bulk samples(4 wt% of MWCNT) under compression was also measured. Under repeated cyclic compression(2% constant strain amplitude), the nanocomposite exhibited stable piezoresistive performance up to 100 cycles. The piezoresistive response under repeated cyclic loading with increasing strain amplitude of was also assessed.The gauge factor of BCC and FCC cellular composites(4 wt% of MWCNT) with a relative density of 30%was observed to be 46.4 and 30.2 respectively, under compression. The higher sensitivity of the BCC plate-lattice could be attributed to its higher degree of stretching-dominated deformation behavior than the FCC plate-lattice, which exhibits bending-dominated behavior. The 3D printed cellular PPR/MWCNT composites structures were found to show excellent piezoresistive self-sensing characteristics and open new avenues for in situ structural health monitoring in various applications.

Investigation of mechanical and electrical characteristics of selfsensing pneumatic torsional actuators

Soft pneumatic actuators are one of the most promising actuation for soft robots,and great achievements have been obtained.But it remains challenging to endow sensing capabilities to pneumatic actuators,especially for the sensing ability originating directly from the actuator architecture.Herein,a self-sensing pneumatic torsional actuator(SPTA)is designed based on the electromagnetic induction effect and magnetically responsive materials.The SPTA can generate feedback voltage and current with the deformation,in which the sensing function comes from its inherent structure.To investigate the mechanical and electrical characteristics,an experimental platform and a finite element model are established,respectively.We find that the torsion angle and output torque increase in nonlinear with the actuating pressure.The maximum torsion angle is 66.35°,which is 84.34%of that for the actuator fabricated by pure rubber.The maximum output torque(24.9 N mm)improves by 23.19%compared with the actuator made by pure rubber.As regards the electrical characteristics,the maximum feedback voltage and current are 2.90μV and 29.50 nA when the SPTA is actuated by a pressure of−40 kPa.We also demonstrate that the relationship between the torsion angle and the magnetic flux change is approximately linear.Finally,the number of turns of wires,magnetic powders contents,and magnetic direction on the feedback voltage and current are studied.Results show that the feedback voltage and current can be enhanced by increasing the number of turns and magnetic powders contents.We envision that the SPTA would be promising for soft robots to realize their accuracy control and intelligentization.

Investigation of Strain-Temperature Cross-Sensitivity of FBG Strain Sensors Embedded Onto Different Substrates

The strain-temperature cross-sensitivity problem easily occurs in the engineering strain monitoring of the self-sensing embedded with fiber Bragg grating(FBG)sensors.In this work,a theoretical investigation of the strain-temperature cross-sensitivity has been performed using the temperature reference grating method.To experimentally observe and theoretically verify the problem,the substrate materials,the preloading technique,and the FBG initial central wavelength were taken as main parameters.And a series of sensitivity coefficients calibration tests and temperature compensation tests have been designed and carried out.It was found that when the FBG sensors were embedded on different substrates,their coefficients of the temperature sensitivity were significantly changed.Besides,the larger the coefficients of thermal expansion(CTE)of substrates were,the higher the temperature sensitivity coefficients would be.On the other hand,the effect of the preloading technique and FBG initial wavelength was negligible on both the strain monitoring and temperature compensation.In the case of similar substrates,we did not observe any difference between temperature sensitivity coefficients of the temperature compensation FBG with one free end or two free ends.The curves of the force along with temperature were almost overlapped with minor differences(less than 1%)gained by FBG sensors and pressure sensors,which verified the accuracy of the temperature compensation method.We suggest that this work can provide efficient solutions to the strain-temperature cross-sensitivity for engineering strain monitoring with the self-sensing element embedded with FBG sensors.

A fuzzy PID-controlled SMA actuator for a two-DOF joint

Shape memory alloy （SMA） actuator is a potential advanced component for servo- systems of aerospace vehicles and aircraft. This paper presents a joint with two degrees of freedom （DOF） and a mobility range close to ±60° when driven by SMA triple wires. The fuzzy proportional-integral-derivative （PID）-controlled actuator drive was designed using antagonistic SMA triple wires, and the resistance feedback signal made a closed loop. Experiments showed that, with the driving responding frequency increasing, the overstress became harder to be avoided at the position under the maximum friction force. Furthermore, the hysteresis gap between the heating and cooling paths of the strain-to-resistance curve expanded under this condition. A fuzzy logic control was considered as a solution, and the curves of the wires were then modeled by fitting polynomials so that the measured resistance was used directly to determine the control signal. Accurate control was demonstrated through the step response, and the experimental results showed that under the fuzzy PID-control program, the mean absolute error （MAE） of the rotation angle was about 3.147°. In addition, the investigation of the external interference to the system proved the controllable maximum output.