Unmanned systems such as legged robots require fast-motion responses for operation in complex envi-ronments.These systems therefore require explosive actuators that can provide high peak speed or high peak torque at s...Unmanned systems such as legged robots require fast-motion responses for operation in complex envi-ronments.These systems therefore require explosive actuators that can provide high peak speed or high peak torque at specific moments during dynamic motion.Although hydraulic actuators can provide a large force,they are relatively inefficient,large,and heavy.Industrial electric actuators are incapable of providing instant high power.In addition,the constant reduction ratio of the reducer makes it difficult to eliminate the tradeoff between high speed and high torque in a given system.This study proposes an explosive electric actuator and an associated control method for legged robots.First,a high-power-density variable transmission is designed to enable continuous adjustment of the output speed to torque ratio.A heat-dissipating structure based on a composite phase-change material(PCM)is used.An integral torque control method is used to achieve periodic and controllable explosive power output.Jumping experiments are conducted with typical legged robots to verify the effectiveness of the proposed actuator and control method.Single-legged,quadruped,and humanoid robots jumped to heights of 1.5,0.8,and 0.5 m,respectively.These are the highest values reported to date for legged robots powered by electric actuators.展开更多
Soft robotics is a breakthrough technology to support human-robot interactions.The soft structure of a soft robot can increase safety during human and robot interactions.One of the promising soft actuators for soft ro...Soft robotics is a breakthrough technology to support human-robot interactions.The soft structure of a soft robot can increase safety during human and robot interactions.One of the promising soft actuators for soft robotics is dielectric elastomer actuators(DEAs).DEAs can operate silently and have an excellent energy density.The simple structure of DEAs leads to the easy fabrication of soft actuators.The simplicity combined with silent operation and high energy density make DEAs interesting for soft robotics researchers.DEAs actuation follows the Maxwell-pressure principle.The pressure produced in the DEAs actuation depends much on the voltage applied.Common DEAs requires high voltage to gain an actuation.Since the power consumption of DEAs is in the milli-Watt range,the current needed to operate the DEAs can be neglected.Several commercially available DC-DC converters can convert the volt range to the kV range.In order to get a voltage in the 2-3 kV range,the reliable DC-DC converter can be pricy for each device.This problem hinders the education of soft actuators,especially for a newcomer laboratory that works in soft electric actuators.This paper introduces an entirely do-it-yourself(DIY)Ultrahigh voltage amplifier(UHV-Amp)for education in soft robotics.UHV-Amp can amplify 12 V to at a maximum of 4 kV DC.As a demonstration,we used this UHV-Amp to test a single layer of powdered-based DEAs.The strategy to build this educational type UHV-Amp was utilizing a Cockcroft-Walton circuit structure to amplify the voltage range to the kV range.In its current state,the UHV-Amp has the potential to achieve approximately 4 kV.We created a simple platform to control the UHV-Amp from a personal computer.In near future,we expect this easy control of the UHV-Amp can contribute to the education of soft electric actuators.展开更多
Research on micro-machines is becoming popular.In this paper,the electric driving behavior of liquid metal columns in confining channel was studied.When the electric field was applied,the liquid metal near the negativ...Research on micro-machines is becoming popular.In this paper,the electric driving behavior of liquid metal columns in confining channel was studied.When the electric field was applied,the liquid metal near the negative electrode became flat,longer.The NaOH electrolyte(1.0 mol/L)could flow from the positive electrode to the negative electrode from a small space above the liquid metal column.Besides,the length and volume of the liquid metal would affect its motion and deformation behavior.Both cylindrical liquid column(R=5 mm,L=5 cm)and linear liquid column(R=5 mm,L=40 cm)exhibit deformable movements,which are similar to the bionic movements of earthworms.The electrically driven liquid metal in closed systems could provide a theoretical basis for droplet actuation in microtubes.It has a very wide application prospect in the field of micro-drive machines.展开更多
Block copolymers posses inherently the ability of form a variety of phase-separated microdomain structures. The lengths of block segments and the selectivity of the solvent are primary factors affecting the resultant ...Block copolymers posses inherently the ability of form a variety of phase-separated microdomain structures. The lengths of block segments and the selectivity of the solvent are primary factors affecting the resultant morphology. This paper investigated the effect of casting solvents on the morphologies and electrical actuation of poly(methyl methacrylate)-poly(n-butyl acrylate)-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA-PnBA-PMMA) triblock copolymer films comprising PMMA hard segment and PnBA soft segment. Transmission electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy observation revealed that PMMA and PnBA segments were assembled into various micro- and nano-sized phase structures where either of them formed continuous phase. This implies that continous phase could be inversed by used casting solvents. Solvent-dependent phase morphologies had a significant effect on the electrical actuation results. Increase of the PnBA contents and the continuous phases of PnBA soft segments improved both of electrical actuation and dielectric constant, indicating that solvent-induced phase separation modulates the electrical actuation of dielectric films. The significance of the role of solvent selectivity and the major continuous phase of the polymer in defining the morphology and electrical actuation of the self-assembled block copolymer structure are discussed.展开更多
This paper proposes a cableless in-piping magnetic actuator that exhibits a very high-speed locomotion into inner pipe of 8 mm. The cableless magnetic actuator is moved according to the vibration amplitude and resonan...This paper proposes a cableless in-piping magnetic actuator that exhibits a very high-speed locomotion into inner pipe of 8 mm. The cableless magnetic actuator is moved according to the vibration amplitude and resonance energy of a mass-spring system excited by using an electromagnetic force. The iron core size of the bobbin type electromagnet was roughly designed by computer simulation and then optimized experimentally. The proposed actuator incorporates an electrical inverter that directly transforms DC from button batteries into AC. The electrical DC-AC inverter incorporates a mass-spring system, a reed switch and a curved permanent magnet that switch under an electromagnetic force. The duty ratio is changed into this electrical inverter by changing the position of the curved magnet and the reed switch. Experimental result demonstrates that the cableless magnetic actuator was able to move horizontally at 471 m, and horizontal speed at 327 mm/s when Maxell SR621W silver-oxide button batteries were used.展开更多
基金supported by the National Key Research Program of China (2018YFB1304500)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91748202 and 62073041)
文摘Unmanned systems such as legged robots require fast-motion responses for operation in complex envi-ronments.These systems therefore require explosive actuators that can provide high peak speed or high peak torque at specific moments during dynamic motion.Although hydraulic actuators can provide a large force,they are relatively inefficient,large,and heavy.Industrial electric actuators are incapable of providing instant high power.In addition,the constant reduction ratio of the reducer makes it difficult to eliminate the tradeoff between high speed and high torque in a given system.This study proposes an explosive electric actuator and an associated control method for legged robots.First,a high-power-density variable transmission is designed to enable continuous adjustment of the output speed to torque ratio.A heat-dissipating structure based on a composite phase-change material(PCM)is used.An integral torque control method is used to achieve periodic and controllable explosive power output.Jumping experiments are conducted with typical legged robots to verify the effectiveness of the proposed actuator and control method.Single-legged,quadruped,and humanoid robots jumped to heights of 1.5,0.8,and 0.5 m,respectively.These are the highest values reported to date for legged robots powered by electric actuators.
基金This work was supported by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science,Japan for their support under Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas(18H05473)the JSPS,Japan KAKENHI(21J15489 and 23K13290).
文摘Soft robotics is a breakthrough technology to support human-robot interactions.The soft structure of a soft robot can increase safety during human and robot interactions.One of the promising soft actuators for soft robotics is dielectric elastomer actuators(DEAs).DEAs can operate silently and have an excellent energy density.The simple structure of DEAs leads to the easy fabrication of soft actuators.The simplicity combined with silent operation and high energy density make DEAs interesting for soft robotics researchers.DEAs actuation follows the Maxwell-pressure principle.The pressure produced in the DEAs actuation depends much on the voltage applied.Common DEAs requires high voltage to gain an actuation.Since the power consumption of DEAs is in the milli-Watt range,the current needed to operate the DEAs can be neglected.Several commercially available DC-DC converters can convert the volt range to the kV range.In order to get a voltage in the 2-3 kV range,the reliable DC-DC converter can be pricy for each device.This problem hinders the education of soft actuators,especially for a newcomer laboratory that works in soft electric actuators.This paper introduces an entirely do-it-yourself(DIY)Ultrahigh voltage amplifier(UHV-Amp)for education in soft robotics.UHV-Amp can amplify 12 V to at a maximum of 4 kV DC.As a demonstration,we used this UHV-Amp to test a single layer of powdered-based DEAs.The strategy to build this educational type UHV-Amp was utilizing a Cockcroft-Walton circuit structure to amplify the voltage range to the kV range.In its current state,the UHV-Amp has the potential to achieve approximately 4 kV.We created a simple platform to control the UHV-Amp from a personal computer.In near future,we expect this easy control of the UHV-Amp can contribute to the education of soft electric actuators.
基金Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing(Grant Nos.cstc2019jcyj-msxmX0788,cstc2020jcyj-msxmX0925)Science and Technology Research Program of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission China(Grant Nos.KJQN201901342,KJQN202001317).
文摘Research on micro-machines is becoming popular.In this paper,the electric driving behavior of liquid metal columns in confining channel was studied.When the electric field was applied,the liquid metal near the negative electrode became flat,longer.The NaOH electrolyte(1.0 mol/L)could flow from the positive electrode to the negative electrode from a small space above the liquid metal column.Besides,the length and volume of the liquid metal would affect its motion and deformation behavior.Both cylindrical liquid column(R=5 mm,L=5 cm)and linear liquid column(R=5 mm,L=40 cm)exhibit deformable movements,which are similar to the bionic movements of earthworms.The electrically driven liquid metal in closed systems could provide a theoretical basis for droplet actuation in microtubes.It has a very wide application prospect in the field of micro-drive machines.
文摘Block copolymers posses inherently the ability of form a variety of phase-separated microdomain structures. The lengths of block segments and the selectivity of the solvent are primary factors affecting the resultant morphology. This paper investigated the effect of casting solvents on the morphologies and electrical actuation of poly(methyl methacrylate)-poly(n-butyl acrylate)-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA-PnBA-PMMA) triblock copolymer films comprising PMMA hard segment and PnBA soft segment. Transmission electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy observation revealed that PMMA and PnBA segments were assembled into various micro- and nano-sized phase structures where either of them formed continuous phase. This implies that continous phase could be inversed by used casting solvents. Solvent-dependent phase morphologies had a significant effect on the electrical actuation results. Increase of the PnBA contents and the continuous phases of PnBA soft segments improved both of electrical actuation and dielectric constant, indicating that solvent-induced phase separation modulates the electrical actuation of dielectric films. The significance of the role of solvent selectivity and the major continuous phase of the polymer in defining the morphology and electrical actuation of the self-assembled block copolymer structure are discussed.
文摘This paper proposes a cableless in-piping magnetic actuator that exhibits a very high-speed locomotion into inner pipe of 8 mm. The cableless magnetic actuator is moved according to the vibration amplitude and resonance energy of a mass-spring system excited by using an electromagnetic force. The iron core size of the bobbin type electromagnet was roughly designed by computer simulation and then optimized experimentally. The proposed actuator incorporates an electrical inverter that directly transforms DC from button batteries into AC. The electrical DC-AC inverter incorporates a mass-spring system, a reed switch and a curved permanent magnet that switch under an electromagnetic force. The duty ratio is changed into this electrical inverter by changing the position of the curved magnet and the reed switch. Experimental result demonstrates that the cableless magnetic actuator was able to move horizontally at 471 m, and horizontal speed at 327 mm/s when Maxell SR621W silver-oxide button batteries were used.
