34 accepted papers
The McKibben muscle, widely employed in antagonistic drive robots, exhibits approximately 20% contraction under pneumatic pressure but lacks crucial passive extensibility. Previous attempts to achieve passive extensibility resulted in reduced overall contraction ratios due to the series connection o
Soft robots are prone to damage when they come into contact with sharp objects, decreasing their functionality. Self-repairing soft robots have great potential to restore their functionality after the damage has been repaired. However, for certain damages wherein it is difficult to reconnect the cut
The McKibben muscle can produce a high force-to-mass ratio, beneficial for various applications in the soft mechatronics field. The thin McKibben muscle, which has a small diameter, has the advantage of a high force-to-mass ratio and sufficient flexibility for use in a bent state. This flexibility p
Hydraulic artificial muscles offer superior performance compared to most pneumatic artificial muscles, but their suitability in multi-DOF robotics remains unverified. We fabricated a 7-DOF power soft robot spanning over 1.5 m using 29 McKibben hydraulic artificial muscles. We analyzed the proposed r
A tensegrity-based system is a promising approach for dynamic exploration of uneven, unpredictable, and confined environments. However, implementing such systems presents challenges in state recognition. In this study, we introduce a 6-strut tensegrity structure integrated with 24 multimodal strain
Soft robotics, including soft grippers and manipulators, are increasingly required to function more adaptively and securely in unknown environments. However, conventional soft pneumatic grippers often grasp and hold objects via the active bending of multiple fingers, making it challenging to grip an
Methods utilizing mechanical structures or chemical reactions to simplify complex control systems (such as solenoid valves required for pneumatically driven soft actuators) have been gaining interest. However, movements developed from these approaches are limited to the combined abilities of the rob
Soft robots hold the potential for use in disaster sites where it is difficult to predict the external environment and the manipulation of irregularly shaped heavy objects is required. However, existing soft robots possess the low load capacity. Therefore, we propose a vine-like, power soft gripper
Significant progress has been achieved in the development of tensegrity robots with rolling capabilities. However, because rolling robots operate passively due to gravity, they are limited to certain environments. So, our aim is to enhance the versatility of tensegrity robots by modularizing a six-b
McKibben artificial muscles are used in many musculoskeletal robots because they have characteristics similar to those of natural skeletal muscles in terms of the contraction ratio and force generated. However, they differ from natural skeletal muscles in that they cannot perform passive elongation
Tensegrity structures have been actively studied in recent years because they are lightweight, compliant, and flexible, which are properties not typically found in conventional robots. This structure can be modularized to create soft robots that operate in unknown environments such as cave or space
Active textiles have shown promising applications in soft robotics owing to their tunable stiffness and design flexibility. Given the breadth of the design space for planar and spatial arrangements of these woven structures, a rigorous and generalizable characterisation of these systems is not yet a
Synthetic fiber ropes are widely used for robots because of their advantages such as lightweight, high tensile strength and flexibility. However, there is limited information on the physical properties of synthetic fiber ropes when used for robots. This study focuses on repetitive twisting of synthe…
The neck of a giraffe has excellent characteristics that can serve as a good alternative for designing a large robotic mechanism. For example, the neck can rapidly move when performing necking, a motion where the giraffes strike each other’s necks. Furthermore, the neck of a giraffe helps prevent im
The primary role of a robot exploring an unknown space is to investigate the state and the spatial shape of the environment. We have designed a soft robot that aims to move forward in an unknown space as it recognizes and adapts to the spatial shape of the environment. We previously reported that so
This letter proposes a novel method to accomplish shape recognition by utilizing a tensegrity structure with a soft sensor via a recurrent neural network (RNN). The combination of soft tensegrity and soft sensors make it capable of recognizing the deformation to reflect the shape of its surroundings
The exploration and inspection of narrow spaces in industrial plants require the use of long-reach redundant manipulators with large three-dimensional (3D) workspaces. To this end, in a previous work, a coupled tendon-driven articulated manipulator with a total length of 10 m and yaw joints for 3D m
A hydraulic drive system can generate a large force and is impact resistant. Thus, robots that utilize hydraulic drive systems have been developed for use in disaster areas. In a hydraulic drive system, it is necessary to design the motion of the robot within the capacity of the pump unit, but it is…
Robotic manipulators using thrusters for weight compensation are an active research topic due to their potential to exceed the limits of maximum length. However, existing manipulators that use thrusters have limitations of maximum length because the hardware design is not sufficiently refined. This
This letter proposes a particular tensegrity topology for a humanoid hand in which the motion of the hand is actuated using thin McKibben artificial muscles. The specific actuation pattern for this tensegrity hand with multiple degrees of freedom, which includes the location of the artificial muscle
An ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) actuator is one of the most promising electroactive polymer devices. It is a lightweight and flexible actuator that can be operated in low voltage, high-frequency bandwidth, and even water. To widen the application field and enhance the potential of the IPMC a
Pneumatic pressure is a widely used power source in soft actuators as it has advantages such as simplicity of design, structure, and driving principle. However, electromagnetic valves are used for controlling pneumatic pressure, and these tend to be large and heavy, thus reducing flexibility in the
Robots currently have a wide range of practical applications. However, their widespread use is limited by long design and manufacturing times as well as increasingly complex drive system electronics and software, which have led to high development costs. Therefore, simpler manufacturing, driving, an
Ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMC) actuators are popular because they can be driven at a low voltage, possess excellent responsiveness, and can perform soft motions similar to that of living creatures. Conventional IPMC soft robots are manufactured by cutting and assembling IPMC sheets. However,…
This letter proposes a new wire-driven mechanism in order to relay many ropes very simply and compactly. Ropes pass through in a joint while bundled. Synthetic fiber rope can slide and twist, exploiting its low friction coefficient. In order to use this mechanism, it is necessary to investigate the
In this letter, we propose a novel active weave named “18 Weave” using a thin McKibben muscle and report on the application to a prototype soft power support suit for the upper limb. The active weave utilizes the flexibility of the thin McKibben muscle, which is used for warps and wefts. From the pr
In this letter, we report on a multi-layer casting process of an ionic polymer metal composite actuator to produce a monolithic thin film robot (MTFR). This robot is developed on the basis of the novel concept of a soft robot, which consists of a body united with actuators and does not require mecha
Among the various pneumatic actuators, thin McKibben muscles are particularly attractive owing to their high performance in terms of high contraction ratio, high flexibility, and productivity. One of the challenges for thin McKibben muscles and other pneumatic actuators is the fact that they general…
This letter presents a novel concept of braiding thin McKibben muscles to improve their contracting ability compared to original muscles. Whereas a single original muscle and the conventional bundled muscle had a contracting ratio of 28%, braiding the muscles realized a contracting ratio of 37%. We
In recent years, synthetic fiber ropes have attracted much attention because of their potential to increase the load capacity, reduce the size, and lighten the weight of tendon-driven mechanisms. However, the mechanical characteristics of synthetic fiber ropes in a dynamic loading situation remain a
As part of our research on developing different types of Giacometti robots, the potential of a very long, very light, and very simple robot arm with a balloon body is discussed in this paper. Although this robot arm is not suitable for precise positioning, rapid motion, and high load capacity, which
As a part of our research on several different types of Giacometti robots, a 20-m-long, considerably light, and simple robot arm, referred to as the Giacometti arm, is developed in this study. Even though the Giacometti arm is not suitable for precise positioning, rapid motion, and high load capacit…
An amphibious all terrain mobile robot is required for disaster response tasks. In this paper, we propose “R-Crank”, which has a simple four wheels driving configuration with crank links, connecting to ipsilateral front and rear wheels so as to form parallel four-bar linkage systems. The crank links…
Compressors and air hoses limit the mobility of mobile robots and the use of pneumatic actuators such that small pneumatic actuators, which can be driven without compressors, are strongly desired. We have been developing a new hose-free pneumatic actuator based on reversible gas/liquid chemical reac…