Analysis of the surrounding environment using an innovative algorithm based on lidar data on a modular mobile robot

none2siopenN.I. Giannoccaro, T. Nishida,Giannoccaro, N. I.; Nishida, T

Designing LMPA-Based Smart Materials for Soft Robotics Applications

This doctoral research, Designing LMPA (Low Melting Point Alloy) Based Smart Materials for Soft Robotics Applications, includes the following topics: (1) Introduction; (2) Robust Bicontinuous Metal-Elastomer Foam Composites with Highly Tunable Mechanical Stiffness; (3) Actively Morphing Drone Wing Design Enabled by Smart Materials for Green Unmanned Aerial Vehicles; (4) Dynamically Tunable Friction via Subsurface Stiffness Modulation; (5) LMPA Wool Sponge Based Smart Materials with Tunable Electrical Conductivity and Tunable Mechanical Stiffness for Soft Robotics; and (6) Contributions and Future Work.Soft robots are developed to interact safely with environments. Smart composites with tunable properties have found use in many soft robotics applications including robotic manipulators, locomotors, and haptics. The purpose of this work is to develop new smart materials with tunable properties (most importantly, mechanical stiffness) upon external stimuli, and integrate these novel smart materials in relevant soft robots. Stiffness tunable composites developed in previous studies have many drawbacks. For example, there is not enough stiffness change, or they are not robust enough. Here, we explore soft robotic mechanisms integrating stiffness tunable materials and innovate smart materials as needed to develop better versions of such soft robotic mechanisms. First, we develop a bicontinuous metal-elastomer foam composites with highly tunable mechanical stiffness. Second, we design and fabricate an actively morphing drone wing enabled by this smart composite, which is used as smart joints in the drone wing. Third, we explore composite pad-like structures with dynamically tunable friction achieved via subsurface stiffness modulation (SSM). We demonstrate that when these composite structures are properly integrated into soft crawling robots, the differences in friction of the two ends of these robots through SSM can be used to generate translational locomotion for untethered crawling robots. Also, we further develop a new class of smart composite based on LMPA wool sponge with tunable electrical conductivity and tunable stiffness for soft robotics applications. The implications of these studies on novel smart materials design are also discussed

Neuromorphic systems for legged robot control

Locomotion automation is a very challenging and complex problem to solve. Besides the obvious navigation problems, there are also problems regarding the environment in which navigation has to be performed. Terrains with obstacles such as rocks, steps or high inclinations, among others, pose serious difficulties to normal wheeled vehicles. The flexibility of legged locomotion is ideal for these types of terrains but this alternate form of locomotion brings with it its own challenges to be solved, caused by the high number of degrees of freedom inherent to it. This problem is usually computationally intensive, so an alternative, using simple and hardware amenable bio-inspired systems, was studied. The goal of this thesis was to investigate if using a biologically inspired learning algorithm, integrated in a fully biologically inspired system, can improve its performance on irregular terrain by adapting its gait to deal with obstacles in its path. At first, two different versions of a learning algorithm based on unsupervised reinforcement learning were developed and evaluated. These systems worked by correlating different events and using them to adjust the behaviour of the system so that it predicts difficult situations and adapts to them beforehand. The difference between these versions was the implementation of a mechanism that allowed for some correlations to be forgotten and suppressed by stronger ones. Secondly, a depth from motion system was tested with unsatisfactory results. The source of the problems are analysed and discussed. An alternative system based on stereo vision was implemented, together with an obstacle detection system based on neuron and synaptic models. It is shown that this system is able to detect obstacles in the path of the robot. After the individual systems were completed, they were integrated together and the system performance was evaluated in a series of 3D simulations using various scenarios. These simulations allowed to conclude that both learning systems were able to adapt to simple scenarios but only the one capable of forgetting past correlations was able to adjust correctly in the more complex experiments

Climbing and Walking Robots

Nowadays robotics is one of the most dynamic fields of scientific researches. The shift of robotics researches from manufacturing to services applications is clear. During the last decades interest in studying climbing and walking robots has been increased. This increasing interest has been in many areas that most important ones of them are: mechanics, electronics, medical engineering, cybernetics, controls, and computers. Today’s climbing and walking robots are a combination of manipulative, perceptive, communicative, and cognitive abilities and they are capable of performing many tasks in industrial and non- industrial environments. Surveillance, planetary exploration, emergence rescue operations, reconnaissance, petrochemical applications, construction, entertainment, personal services, intervention in severe environments, transportation, medical and etc are some applications from a very diverse application fields of climbing and walking robots. By great progress in this area of robotics it is anticipated that next generation climbing and walking robots will enhance lives and will change the way the human works, thinks and makes decisions. This book presents the state of the art achievments, recent developments, applications and future challenges of climbing and walking robots. These are presented in 24 chapters by authors throughtot the world The book serves as a reference especially for the researchers who are interested in mobile robots. It also is useful for industrial engineers and graduate students in advanced study