Phase Transitions for the Generation and Control of Complex Motion in Soft Robots

Descripción del proyecto

Un nuevo paradigma para el control del movimiento de los robots blandos

Los robots blandos podrían desempeñar pronto un papel importante en aplicaciones como la medicina, los servicio de rescate, búsqueda y salvamento y la manipulación de objetos. En primer lugar, sin embargo, hay que superar los retos que plantean la ejecución de movimientos complejos y el control de los accionadores blandos. Para resolver este problema, el equipo del proyecto PHASEBOT, financiado por el CEI, pretende simplificar el control de los robots blandos mediante la transmisión continua de transiciones mecánicas de fase de primer orden para inducir patrones de movimiento complejos. Entre sus objetivos figuran desarrollar sistemas modelo para acomodar patrones de movimiento en los accionadores blandos impulsados por fluidos e idear estrategias para producir una serie de movimientos utilizando fuerzas electrostáticas. A continuación, aplicará estos avances en sistemas robóticos blandos avanzados, con lo que demostrará su potencial para realizar movimientos complejos, versátiles y fáciles de controlar.

Objetivo

We are in the middle of a revolution in which intelligent systems transform our lives and work. Soft robots have shown great promise in important applications such as medicine, search-and-rescue, and object manipulation. However, we do not see them in the real world. One reason is the struggle to execute complex motions with soft robots due to the complexity of controlling many soft actuators in a single system.
PHASEBOT proposes the continuous propagation of mechanical first-order phase transitions as a ground-breaking new method for generating complex motion patterns in easy-to-control soft robots. PHASEBOT will devise a framework for embodying motion patterns in soft actuators with phase transitions using fluid-driven soft actuators as a model system (Objective 1). Functional soft materials allow for active control of the behavior of phase transitions to generate and control motion patterns. We will develop strategies to generate a large variety of motions using electrostatic forces as an example mechanism (Objective 2). We will implement the developed concepts in advanced soft robotic systems (Objective 3) to demonstrate the benefits of motion control with phase transitions. Advantages include the generation of complex, versatile motion in simple soft robots, high-performance untethered soft robotic devices, and control concepts that drastically simplify the control of complex soft robots. This ambitious work will involve theoretical analysis and experiments. A structured research program that progresses from model systems to advanced robots ensures its feasibility.
PHASEBOT offers a new paradigm for motion control, which can be applied to many soft robotic systems. Thus, PHASEBOT will serve as a foundation for future research and the design of a new generation of high-performance soft robots.