6 accepted papers
In soft robotics, actuators using both positive and negative pressures are notable for their high payload-to-weight ratios and wide operating ranges, but they require separate power sources. A single-pump system generating dual pressures presents a promising solution, though addressing pressure fluc
This letter introduces a simultaneous positive and negative pressure controller for a pneumatic pump. For precise position or force control of the pneumatic soft actuator, the pressure from the source has to be regulated. When the positive and negative pressures are regulated, coupled dynamics cause
Twisted-coiled polymer actuators (TCAs) have been known for many interesting properties such as inherent compliance, high stroke, high power density. However, the current TCAs normally come along with traditional sensing methods such as encoders attached to the link, which limits the application of
In this letter, we propose a method of computationally efficient modeling of vacuum suction grippers. The model is better at predicting the load-carrying capability of a vacuum suction cup while being easy to simulate in a virtual environment. The contact geometry between the suction cup and the cur
This letter proposes a variable stiffness robotic hand driven by twisted-coiled polymer actuators (TCAs) connected in series with a servomotor. Unlike slow conventional TCA systems, the grasping motion of the proposed hand is realized by the servomotor, which improves the speed of actuation signific
Twisted-coiled polymer actuators (TCA) have many interesting properties that show potentials for making high performance bionic devices. This letter presents a long short term memory (LSTM) model to predict the behavior of an antagonistic joint driven by hybrid TCA bundles made from Spandex and nylo