Avian-Inspired Claws Enable Robot Perching or Walking

Multimodal UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) are rarely capable of more than two modalities, i.e., flying and walking or flying and perching. However, being able to fly, perch, and walk could further improve their usefulness by expanding their operating envelope. For instance, an aerial robot could fly a long distance, perch in a high place to survey the surroundings, then walk to avoid obstacles that could potentially inhibit flight. Birds are capable of these three tasks, and so offer a practical example of how a robot might be developed to do the same. In this paper, we present a specialized avian-inspired claw design to enable UAVs to perch passively or walk. The key innovation is the combination of a Hoberman linkage leg with Fin Ray claw that uses the weight of the UAV to wrap the claw around a perch, or hyperextend it in the opposite direction to form a curved-up shape for stable terrestrial locomotion. Because the design uses the weight of the vehicle, the underactuated design is lightweight and low power. With the inclusion of talons, the 45g claws are capable of holding a 700g UAV to an almost 20-degree angle on a perch. In scenarios where cluttered environments impede flight and long mission times are required, such a combination of flying, perching, and walking is critical.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figure

Structural optimization method of a FinRay finger for the best wrapping of object

Soft gripping, in which the gripper adapts to differently shaped objects, is in great demand for use in unknown or dynamically changing environments and is one of the main research subjects in soft robotics. Several systems have already been created, one of which is a passive shape-adaptable finger based on the FinRay effect. The geometric shape of this finger ensures that the finger wraps around the object it grips. FinRay fingers have been studied in several studies, which have changed the internal structure and examined how gripping force's dependence on finger deformation changes. So far, however, no specific way has been determined to evaluate the proposed finger regarding its ability to wrap around the object. This work comes up with a new and simple method to evaluate the finger's wrapping around the object mathematically. Based on this evaluation method, several different patterns of the internal structure of FinRay fingers were tested. The fingers were first tested in a simulation program, which simulated a steel roller indentation with a diameter of 20 mm in the middle of the finger's contact surface. Based on the simulation results, selected types of structure were made by the Fused Filament Fabrication method from a flexible filament and tested on a real test rig to verify the results of the simulation and compare it with the real behaviour. According to the methodology used, the results show that the most suitable structure of the selected tested fingers from the point of view of wrapping the finger around the object is a structure without internal filling. Designers can simply use the new evaluation method to compare their designed finger variants and select the most suitable one according to the ability to wrap around the gripped object. They can also use graphs from this work's results and determine the finger's dimensions without internal filling according to the required forces and deflection.Web of Science119art. no. 385

Novel Configurations of Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites (IPMCs) As Sensors, Actuators, and Energy Harvesters

This dissertation starts with describing the IPMC and defining its chemical structure and fundamental characteristics in Chapter 1. The application of these materials in the form of actuator, sensor, and energy harvester are reported through a literature review in Chapter 2. The literature review involves some electromechanical modeling approaches toward physics of the IPMC as well as some of the experimental results and test reports. This chapter also includes a short description of the manufacturing process of the IPMC. Chapter 3 presents the mechanical modeling of IPMC in actuation. For modeling, shear deformation expected not to be significant. Hence, the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory considered to be the approach defining the shape and critical points of the proposed IPMC elements. Description of modeling of IPMC in sensing mode is in Chapter 4. Since the material undergoes large deformation, large beam deformation is considered for both actuation and sensing model. Basic configurations of IPMC as sensor and actuator are introduced in Chapter 5. These basic configurations, based on a systematic approach, generate a large number of possible configurations. Based on the presented mechanisms, some parameters can be defined, but the selection of a proper arrangement remained as an unknown parameter. This mater is addressed by introducing a decision-making algorithm. A series of design for slit cylindrical/tubular/helical IPMC actuators and sensors are introduced in chapter 5. A consideration related to twisting of IPMCs in helical formations is reported through some experiments. Combinations of these IPMC actuators and sensors can be made to make biomimetic robotic devices as some of them are discussed in this chapter and the following Chapters 6 and 7. Another set of IPMC actuator/sensor configurations are introduced as a loop sensor and actuator that are presented subsequently in Chapter 6. These configurations may serve as haptic and tactile feedback sensors, particularly for robotic surgery. Both of these configurations (loop and slit cylindrical) of IPMCs are discussed in details, and some experimental measurements and results are also carried out and reported. The model for different inputs is studied, and report of the feedback is presented. Various designs of these configurations of IPMC are also presented in chapter 7, including their extension to mechanical metamaterials and soft robots

Advanced Mobile Robotics: Volume 3

Mobile robotics is a challenging field with great potential. It covers disciplines including electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, cognitive science, and social science. It is essential to the design of automated robots, in combination with artificial intelligence, vision, and sensor technologies. Mobile robots are widely used for surveillance, guidance, transportation and entertainment tasks, as well as medical applications. This Special Issue intends to concentrate on recent developments concerning mobile robots and the research surrounding them to enhance studies on the fundamental problems observed in the robots. Various multidisciplinary approaches and integrative contributions including navigation, learning and adaptation, networked system, biologically inspired robots and cognitive methods are welcome contributions to this Special Issue, both from a research and an application perspective

Proceedings of the NASA Conference on Space Telerobotics, volume 2

These proceedings contain papers presented at the NASA Conference on Space Telerobotics held in Pasadena, January 31 to February 2, 1989. The theme of the Conference was man-machine collaboration in space. The Conference provided a forum for researchers and engineers to exchange ideas on the research and development required for application of telerobotics technology to the space systems planned for the 1990s and beyond. The Conference: (1) provided a view of current NASA telerobotic research and development; (2) stimulated technical exchange on man-machine systems, manipulator control, machine sensing, machine intelligence, concurrent computation, and system architectures; and (3) identified important unsolved problems of current interest which can be dealt with by future research

Proceedings of the International Workshop "Innovation Information Technologies: Theory and Practice": Dresden, Germany, September 06-10.2010

This International Workshop is a high quality seminar providing a forum for the exchange of scientific achievements between research communities of different universities and research institutes in the area of innovation information technologies. It is a continuation of the Russian-German Workshops that have been organized by the universities in Dresden, Karlsruhe and Ufa before. The workshop was arranged in 9 sessions covering the major topics: Modern Trends in Information Technology, Knowledge Based Systems and Semantic Modelling, Software Technology and High Performance Computing, Geo-Information Systems and Virtual Reality, System and Process Engineering, Process Control and Management and Corporate Information Systems

Second Annual Workshop on Space Operations Automation and Robotics (SOAR 1988)

Papers presented at the Second Annual Workshop on Space Operation Automation and Robotics (SOAR '88), hosted by Wright State University at Dayton, Ohio, on July 20, 21, 22, and 23, 1988, are documented herein. During the 4 days, approximately 100 technical papers were presented by experts from NASA, the USAF, universities, and technical companies. Panel discussions on Human Factors, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Space Systems were held but are not documented herein. Technical topics addressed included knowledge-based systems, human factors, and robotics