Modeling and Adaptive Neural Network Control for a Soft Robotic Arm With Prescribed Motion Constraints

This paper presents a dynamic model and performance constraint control of a line-driven soft robotic arm.The dynamics model of the soft robotic arm is established by combining the screw theory and the Cosserat theory.The unmodeled dynamics of the system are considered,and an adaptive neural network controller is designed using the backstepping method and radial basis function neural network.The stability of the closed-loop system and the boundedness of the tracking error are verified using Lyapunov theory.The simulation results show that our approach is a good solution to the motion constraint problem of the line-driven soft robotic arm.

Soft Robotics:Morphology and Morphology-inspired Motion Strategy

Robotics has aroused huge attention since the 1950s.Irrespective of the uniqueness that industrial applications exhibit,conventional rigid robots have displayed noticeable limitations,particularly in safe cooperation as well as with environmental adaption.Accordingly,scientists have shifted their focus on soft robotics to apply this type of robots more effectively in unstructured environments.For decades,they have been committed to exploring sub-fields of soft robotics(e.g.,cutting-edge techniques in design and fabrication,accurate modeling,as well as advanced control algorithms).Although scientists have made many different efforts,they share the common goal of enhancing applicability.The presented paper aims to brief the progress of soft robotic research for readers interested in this field,and clarify how an appropriate control algorithm can be produced for soft robots with specific morphologies.This paper,instead of enumerating existing modeling or control methods of a certain soft robot prototype,interprets for the relationship between morphology and morphology-dependent motion strategy,attempts to delve into the common issues in a particular class of soft robots,and elucidates a generic solution to enhance their performance.

Deformation and Locomotion of Untethered Small-Scale Magnetic Soft Robotic Turtle with Programmable Magnetization

Inspired by the way sea turtles rely on the Earth’s magnetic field for navigation and locomotion,a novel magnetic soft robotic turtle with programmable magnetization has been developed and investigated to achieve biomimetic locomotion patterns such as straight-line swimming and turning swimming.The soft robotic turtle(12.50 mm in length and 0.24 g in weight)is integrated with an Ecoflex-based torso and four magnetically programmed acrylic elastomer VHB-based limbs containing samarium-iron–nitrogen particles,and was able to carry a load more than twice its own weight.Similar to the limb locomotion characteristics of sea turtles,the magnetic torque causes the four limbs to mimic sinusoidal bending deformation under the influence of an external magnetic field,so that the turtle swims continuously forward.Significantly,when the bending deformation magnitudes of its left and right limbs differ,the soft robotic turtle switches from straight-line to turning swimming at 6.334 rad/s.Furthermore,the tracking swimming activities of the soft robotic turtle along specific planned paths,such as square-shaped,S-shaped,and double U-shaped maze,is anticipated to be utilized for special detection and targeted drug delivery,among other applications owing to its superior remote directional control ability.

Biomimetic soft robotic wrist with 3-DOF motion and stiffness tunability based on ring-reinforced pneumatic actuators and a particle jamming joint

The human wrist, a complex articulation of skeletal muscles and two-carpal rows, substantially contributes to improvements in maneuverability by agilely performing three-degree-of-freedom(3-DOF) orienting tasks and regulating stiffness according to variations in interaction forces. However, few soft robotic wrists simultaneously demonstrate dexterous 3-DOF motion and variable stiffness;in addition, they do not fully consider a soft-rigid hybrid structure of integrated muscles and two carpal rows.In this study, we developed a soft-rigid hybrid structure to design a biomimetic soft robotic wrist(BSRW) that is capable of rotating in the x and y directions, twisting around the z-axis, and possessing stiffness-tunable capacity. To actuate the BSRW, a lightweight soft-ring-reinforced bellows-type pneumatic actuator(SRBPA) with large axial, linear deformation(η_(lcmax)=70.6%,η_(lemax)=54.3%) and small radial expansion(η_(demax)=3.7%) is designed to mimic the motion of skeletal muscles. To represent the function of two-carpal rows, a compact particle-jamming joint(PJJ) that combines particles with a membrane-covered ballsocket mechanism is developed to achieve various 3-DOF motions and high axial load-carrying capacity(>60 N). By varying the jamming pressure, the stiffness of the PJJ can be adjusted. Finally, a centrally positioned PJJ and six independently actuated SRBPAs, which are in an inclined and antagonistic arrangement, are sandwiched between two rigid plates to form a flexible,stable, and compact BSRW. Such a structure enables the BSRW to have a dexterous 3-DOF motion, high load-carrying ability,and stiffness tunability. Experimental analysis verify 3-DOF motion of BSRW, producing force of 29.6 N and 36 N and torque of2.2 Nm in corresponding rotations. Moreover, the range of rotational angle and stiffness-tuning properties of BSRW are studied by applying jamming pressure to the PJJ. Finally, a system combining a BSRW and a soft enclosing gripper is proposed to demonstrate outstanding manipulation capability in potential applications.

Bionic soft robotic gripper with feedback control for adaptive grasping and capturing applications

Robots are playing an increasingly important role in engineering applications.Soft robots have promising applications in several fields due to their inherent advantages of compliance,low density,and soft interactions.A soft gripper based on bio-inspiration is proposed in this study.We analyze the cushioning and energy absorption mechanism of human fingertips in detail and provide insights for designing a soft gripper with a variable stiffness structure.We investigate the grasping modes through a large deformation modeling approach,which is verified through experiments.The characteristics of the three grasping modes are quantified through testing and can provide guidance for robotics manipulation.First,the adaptability of the soft gripper is verified by grasping multi-scale and extremely soft objects.Second,a cushioning model of the soft gripper is proposed,and the effectiveness of cushioning is verified by grasping extremely sharp objects and living organisms.Notably,we validate the advantages of the variable stiffness of the soft gripper,and the results show that the soft robot can robustly complete assemblies with a gap of only 0.1 mm.Owing to the unstructured nature of the engineering environment,the soft gripper can be applied in complex environments based on the abovementioned experimental analysis.Finally,we design the soft robotics system with feedback capture based on the inspiration of human catching behavior.The feasibility of engineering applications is initially verified through fast capture experiments on moving objects.The design concept of this robot can provide new insights for bionic machinery.

Design and optimisation of soft robotic actuators for augmented lung-ventilation

Pulmonary rehabilitation through invasive ventilation involves the insertion of an endotracheal tube into the trachea of a sedated patient to control breathing via a ventilating machine.Invasive ventilation offers benefits such as greater control over oxygen supply,higher efficiency in supporting patient respiration,and the ability to manage airway secretions.However,this method also poses treatment challenges like ventilator-induced pneumonia,airway injury,long recovery times,and ventilator dependence.Here,we explore an alternative invasive ventilation technique using soft robotic actuators to mimic the biological function of the diaphragm for augmenting and assisting ventilation.We investigated two actuator geometries,each at two locations superior to the diaphragm.These actuators were tested on a bespoke ex vivo testbed that accurately simulated key diaphragmatic characteristics throughout the respiratory cycle.From this,we have been able to drive intrathoracic pressures greater than the 5 cmH_(2)O required for ventilation in a human male.Additionally,by optimising the placement and geometry of these soft robotic actuators we have been able to generate maximum intrathoracic pressures of(6.81±0.39)cmH_(2)O.

Modular Soft Robotic Crawlers Based on Fluidic Prestressed Composite Actuators

Soft robotic crawlers have limited payload capacity and crawling speed.This study proposes a high-performance inchworm-like modular robotic crawler based on fluidic prestressed composite(FPC)actuators.The FPC actuator is precurved and a pneumatic source is used to flatten it,requiring no energy cost to maintain the equilibrium curved shape.Pressurizing and depressurizing the actuators generate alternating stretching and bending motions of the actuators,achieving the crawling motion of the robotic crawler.Multi-modal locomotion(crawling,turning,and pipe climbing)is achieved by modular reconfiguration and gait design.An analytical kinematic model is proposed to characterize the quasi-static curvature and step size of a single-module crawler.Multiple configurations of robotic crawlers are fabricated to demonstrate the crawling ability of the proposed design.A set of systematic experiments are set up and conducted to understand how crawler responses vary as a function of FPC prestrains,input pressures,and actuation frequencies.As per the experiments,the maximum carrying load ratio(carrying load divided by robot weight)is found to be 22.32,and the highest crawling velocity is 3.02 body length(BL)per second(392 mm/s).Multi-modal capabilities are demonstrated by reconfiguring three soft crawlers,including a matrix crawler robot crawling in amphibious environments,and an inching crawler turning at an angular velocity of 2/s,as well as earthworm-like crawling robots climbing a 20 inclination slope and pipe.

Dielectric elastomer artificial muscle materials advancement and soft robotic applications

Conventional robotic systems are built with rigid materials to deal with large forces and predetermined processes.Soft robotics,however,is an emerging field seeking to develop adaptable robots that can perform tasks in unpredictable environments and biocompatible devices that close the gap between humans and machines.Dielectric elastomers(DEs)have emerged as a soft actuation technology that imitates the properties and performance of natural muscles,making them an attractive material choice for soft robotics.However,conventional DE materials suffer from electromechanical instability(EMI),which reduces their performance and limits their applications in soft robotics.This review discusses key innovations in DE artificial muscles from a material standpoint,followed by a survey on their representative demonstrations of soft robotics.Specifically,we introduce modifications of DE materials that enable large strains,fast responses,and high energy densities by suppressing EMI.Additionally,we examine materials that allow variable stiffness and self‐healing abilities in DE actuators.Finally,we review dielectric elastomer actuator(DEA)applications in soft robotics in four categories,including automation,manipulation,locomotion,and human interaction.

A Soft Robotic Fish Actuated by Artificial Muscle Modules(SoRoFAAM-1)

In this paper,we present the design,fabrication,locomotion and bionic analysis of a Soft Robotic Fish Actuated by Artificial Muscle(SoRoFAAM).As a carangiform swimmer,the most important part of SoRoFAAM-1,on the motion point of view,is its tail designed around a bidirectional flexible bending actuator by layered bonding technology.This actuator is made of two artificial muscle modules based on Shape Memory Alloy(SMA)wires.Each artificial muscle module has four independent SMA-wire channels and is therefore capable of producing four different actuations.This design allows us to implement an adaptive regulated control strategy based on resistance feedback of the SMA wires to prevent them from overheating.To improve the actuation frequency to 2 Hz and the heat-dissipation ratio by 60%,we developed a round-robin heating strategy.Furthermore,the thermomechanical model of actuator is built,and the thermal transformation is analysed.The relationships between the actuation parameters and SoRoFAAM-1’s kinematic parameters are analysed.The versatility of the actuator endows SoRoFAAM-1 with cruise straight and turning abilities.Moreover,SoRoFAAM-1 has a good bionic fidelity;in particular,a maneuverability of 0.15,a head swing factor of 0.38 and a Strouhal number of 0.61.

Design and Grasping Force Modeling for a Soft Robotic Gripper with Multi-stem Twining

To improve the grasping power of soft robots,inspired by the scene of intertwined and interdependent vine branches safely clinging to habitats in a violent storm and the phenomenon of large grasping force after being entangled by aquatic plants,this paper proposes a soft robotic gripper with multi-stem twining.The proposed robotic gripper can realize a larger contact area of surrounding or containing object and more layers of a twining object than the current twining gripping methods.It not only retains the adaptive advantages of twining grasping but also improves the grasping force.First,based on the mechanical characteristics of the multi-stem twining of the gripper,the twining grasping model is developed.Then,the force on the fiber is deduced by using the twining theory,and the axial force of the gripper is analyzed based on the equivalent model of the rubber ring.Finally,the torsion experiments of fibers and the grasping experiments of the gripper are designed and conducted.The torsion experiment of fibers verifies the influence of a different number of fiber ropes and fiber torque on the grasping force,and the grasping experiment reflects the large load of the gripper and the high adaptability and practicability under different tasks.

Direct 4D printing of functionally graded hydrogel networks for biodegradable,untethered,and multimorphic soft robots

Recent advances in functionally graded additive manufacturing(FGAM)technology have enabled the seamless hybridization of multiple functionalities in a single structure.Soft robotics can become one of the largest beneficiaries of these advances,through the design of a facile four-dimensional(4D)FGAM process that can grant an intelligent stimuli-responsive mechanical functionality to the printed objects.Herein,we present a simple binder jetting approach for the 4D printing of functionally graded porous multi-materials(FGMM)by introducing rationally designed graded multiphase feeder beds.Compositionally graded cross-linking agents gradually form stable porous network structures within aqueous polymer particles,enabling programmable hygroscopic deformation without complex mechanical designs.Furthermore,a systematic bed design incorporating additional functional agents enables a multi-stimuli-responsive and untethered soft robot with stark stimulus selectivity.The biodegradability of the proposed 4D-printed soft robot further ensures the sustainability of our approach,with immediate degradation rates of 96.6%within 72 h.The proposed 4D printing concept for FGMMs can create new opportunities for intelligent and sustainable additive manufacturing in soft robotics.

MXenes for Bioinspired Soft Actuators:Advancements in Angle-Independent Structural Colors and Beyond

Soft actuators have garnered substantial attention in current years in view of their potential appliances in diverse domains like robotics,biomedical devices,and biomimetic systems.These actuators mimic the natural movements of living organisms,aiming to attain enhanced flexibility,adaptability,and versatility.On the other hand,angle-independent structural color has been achieved through innovative design strategies and engineering approaches.By carefully controlling the size,shape,and arrangement of nanostructures,researchers have been able to create materials exhibiting consistent colors regardless of the viewing angle.One promising class of materials that holds great potential for bioinspired soft actuators is MXenes in view of their exceptional mechanical,electrical,and optical properties.The integration of MXenes for bioinspired soft actuators with angle-independent structural color offers exciting possibilities.Overcoming material compatibility issues,improving color reproducibility,scalability,durability,power supply efficiency,and cost-effectiveness will play vital roles in advancing these technologies.This perspective appraises the development of bioinspired MXene-centered soft actuators with angleindependent structural color in soft robotics.

Advanced Design of Soft Robots with Artificial Intelligence

In recent years,breakthrough has been made in the field of artificial intelligence(AI),which has also revolutionized the industry of robotics.Soft robots featured with high-level safety,less weight,lower power consumption have always been one of the research hotspots.Recently,multifunctional sensors for perception of soft robotics have been rapidly developed,while more algorithms and models of machine learning with high accuracy have been optimized and proposed.Designs of soft robots with AI have also been advanced ranging from multimodal sensing,human-machine interaction to effective actuation in robotic systems.Nonethe-less,comprehensive reviews concerning the new developments and strategies for the ingenious design of the soft robotic systems equipped with AI are rare.Here,the new development is systematically reviewed in the field of soft robots with AI.First,background and mechanisms of soft robotic systems are briefed,after which development focused on how to endow the soft robots with AI,including the aspects of feeling,thought and reaction,is illustrated.Next,applications of soft robots with AI are systematically summarized and discussed together with advanced strategies proposed for performance enhancement.Design thoughts for future intelligent soft robotics are pointed out.Finally,some perspectives are put forward.

Pneumatically Actuated Soft Robotic Arm for Adaptable Grasping

Developing robotic manipulators capable of performing effective physical interac- tion tasks is a challenging topic. In this study, we design a soft robotic arm （SRA） with multiple degrees of freedom inspired by the flexible structures and the unique motion mechanism of the octopus arm. The SRA is fabricated with elastomeric materials, which consists of four series of integrated pneumatic chambers that play similar roles as the muscles in the octopus arm can achieve large bending in various directions with variable stiffness. This SRA displays specified movements via controlling pressure and selecting channels. Moreover, utilizing parallel control, the SRA demonstrates complicated three-dimensional motions. The force response and motion of the SRA are determined both experimentally and computationally. The applications of the present SRA include tightly coiling around the objects because of its large bending deformation （nearly 360°）, grasping multiple objects, and adjusting the grabbing mode in accordance with the shape of objects.

A Bio-inspired Soft Robotic Arm： Kinematic Modeling and Hydrodynamic Experiments

Soft robotics has several promising properties for aquatic applications, such as safe interaction with environments, lightweight, low cost, etc. In this paper, we proposed the kinematic modeling and hydrodynamics experiments of a soft robotic arm with 3D locomotion capacity. We developed a mathematical model that incorporates the angle correction, as well as the open-loop model-based motion control. The model could precisely predict the three-dimensional （3D） movement, and the location error is less than 5.7 mm in different attitudes. Furthermore, we performed the hydrodynamic investigations and simultaneously measured the hydrodynamic forces and the wake flows at different amplitudes （50 mm, 100 mm, 150 mm, 200 mm） and frequencies （0.3 Hz, 0.4 Hz, 0.5 Hz） of the soft arm. Surprisingly, we found that the magnitudes of the hydrodynamic force （〈1 N） and the torques （〈0.08 N-m） of dynamically moving soft arm were tiny, which leads to negligible inertial effect for the underwater vehicle than those of the traditional rigid underwater manipulator. Finally, we demonstrated underwater picking and placing tasks of the soft manipulator by using a computer program that controls the tip attitude and velocity. This study may inspire future underwater manipulators that have properties of low-inertial, low power cost and can safely interact with the aauatic environments.

A Soft Robotic Fish with Variable-stiffness Decoupled Mechanisms

A Body and/or Caudal Fin （BCF） fish modulate its body stiffness by mechanisms consisting of antagonistic muscles. The mecha- nisms can be considered as Redundant Planar Rotational Parallel Mechanisms （RPRPM） with antagonistic flexible elements. For a typical RPRPM, its stiffness consists of the adjustable stiffness resulting from internal forces and the inherent stiffness caused by inherent com- pliances of flexible elements. In order to decouple the adjustable stiffness from the inherent stiffness and expand the range of stiffness variation, a variable-stiffness decoupled mechanism based on the Mechanically Adjustable Compliance and Controllable Equilibrium Position Actuator （MACCEPA） is presented and used to construct a soft robotic fish with large stiffness variation. According to the analysis of the evolution from RPRPM to MACCEPA, it can be found that MACCEPA is just a special type of RPRPM with only an adjustable stiffness. In addition, MACCEPA existed before RPRPM mechanism. The prototype of the soft robotic fish with variable- stiffness decoupled mechanisms is built to explore the relationships between the body stiffness and the swimming performance. It is validated experimentally that the stiffness variation multiple of the robotic fish is raised, the swimming performance of the robotic fish is improved when the stiffness is modulated to match the driving frequency.

Machine Learning-Based Multi-Modal Information Perception for Soft Robotic Hands

This paper focuses on multi-modal Information Perception(IP)for Soft Robotic Hands(SRHs)using Machine Learning(ML)algorithms.A flexible Optical Fiber-based Curvature Sensor(OFCS)is fabricated,consisting of a Light-Emitting Diode(LED),photosensitive detector,and optical fiber.Bending the roughened optical fiber generates lower light intensity,which reflecting the curvature of the soft finger.Together with the curvature and pressure information,multi-modal IP is performed to improve the recognition accuracy.Recognitions of gesture,object shape,size,and weight are implemented with multiple ML approaches,including the Supervised Learning Algorithms(SLAs)of K-Nearest Neighbor(KNN),Support Vector Machine(SVM),Logistic Regression(LR),and the unSupervised Learning Algorithm(un-SLA)of K-Means Clustering(KMC).Moreover,Optical Sensor Information(OSI),Pressure Sensor Information(PSI),and Double-Sensor Information(DSI)are adopted to compare the recognition accuracies.The experiment results demonstrate that the proposed sensors and recognition approaches are feasible and effective.The recognition accuracies obtained using the above ML algorithms and three modes of sensor information are higer than 85 percent for almost all combinations.Moreover,DSI is more accurate when compared to single modal sensor information and the KNN algorithm with a DSI outperforms the other combinations in recognition accuracy.

Synergistic control of soft robotic hands for human-like grasp postures

Although significant advances in the design of soft robotic hands have been made to mimic the structure of the human hands,there are great challenges to control them for coordinated and human-like postures.Based on the principle of postural synergies in the human hand,we present a synergistic approach for coordinated control of a soft robotic hand to replicate the human-like grasp postures.To this end,we firstly develop a kinematic model to describe the control variables and the various postures of the soft robotic hand.Based on the postural synergies,we use the developed model and Principal Component Analysis(PCA)method to describe the various postures of the soft robotic hand in a low-dimensional space formed by the synergies of actuator motions.Therefore,the coordinates of these synergies can be used as low-dimensional control inputs for the soft robotic hand with a higher-dimensional postural space.Finally,we establish an experimental platform on a customized soft robotic hand with6 pneumatical actuators to verify the effectiveness of the development.Experimental results demonstrate that with only a 2-dimensional control input,the soft robotic hand can reliably replicate 30 grasp postures in the Feix taxonomy of the human hand.

Bioinspired MXene-Based Soft Actuators Exhibiting Angle-Independent Structural Color

In nature,many living organisms exhibiting unique structural coloration and soft-bodied actuation have inspired scientists to develop advanced structural colored soft actuators toward biomimetic soft robots.However,it is challenging to simultaneously biomimic the angle-independent structural color and shape-morphing capabilities found in the plum-throated cotinga flying bird.Herein,we report biomimetic MXene-based soft actuators with angle-independent structural color that are fabricated through controlled self-assembly of colloidal SiO_(2) nanoparticles onto highly aligned MXene films followed by vacuum-assisted infiltration of polyvinylidene fluoride into the interstices.The resulting soft actuators are found to exhibit brilliant,angle-independent structural color,as well as ultrafast actuation and recovery speeds(a maximum curvature of 0.52 mm−1 can be achieved within 1.16 s,and a recovery time of~0.24 s)in response to acetone vapor.As proof-of-concept illustrations,structural colored soft actuators are applied to demonstrate a blue gripper-like bird’s claw that can capture the target,artificial green tendrils that can twine around tree branches,and an artificial multicolored butterfly that can flutter its wings upon cyclic exposure to acetone vapor.The strategy is expected to offer new insights into the development of biomimetic multifunctional soft actuators for somatosensory soft robotics and next-generation intelligent machines.

Kinematic modeling and control of a novel pneumatic soft robotic arm

A novel soft robotic arm(SRA)composed of two soft extensible arms(SEAs)and a soft bendable joint(SBJ)for space capture systems is presented in this paper.A diamond origami pattern was applied in the design of the SEAs,and large deformations of the SEAs in positive pressure were simulated using the nonlinear finite element method.A kinematic model of the SRA using the Denavit–Hartenberg method based on the assumption of constant curvatures was proposed.A closed-loop model-free control system based on a PID controller was developed using real-time data from a vision sensor system.The kinematic model and closed-loop model-free control system are experimentally evaluated on an SRA prototype by four experiments.The experimental results demonstrate that the derived kinematic model can finely describe the movement of the SRA and that the closed-loop control system can control the SRA to reach the desired destination or trajectory within an acceptable error and performs well in long-term repeated operations.