Dexterity and Workspace Analysis of Two Soft Robotic Manipulators

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepak Trivedi ◽  
Daniel Lesutis ◽  
Christopher D. Rahn
Keyword(s):  
Elastic Deformation ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Soft Materials ◽  
Robotic Manipulators ◽  
Backbone Curve ◽  
Continuum Robots ◽  
Workspace Analysis ◽  
Air Muscle ◽  
Distal Section ◽  
Effective Design

Soft robotic manipulators are continuum robots made of soft materials that undergo continuous elastic deformation and produce motion with a smooth backbone curve. These manipulators offer significant advantages over traditional manipulators due to their ability to conform to their surroundings, move with dexterity and manipulate objects of widely varying size using whole arm manipulation. Soft robotic manipulators are complex and difficult to design, model and fabricate. In this paper, we present a cost effective design for a pneumatic air muscle based soft robotic manipulator in which the actuators for the distal section extend from the base to the tip of the arm, thereby simplifying the pneumatic design and eliminating the need for endplates. We compare the workspace and dexterity of continuous tube (CT) design with a previously developed OctArm type manipulator and conclude that although the two designs have comparable workspace area, the OctArm workspace has better dexterity characteristics.

Shape Sensing for Soft Robotic Manipulators

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepak Trivedi ◽  
Christopher D. Rahn
Keyword(s):  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Soft Materials ◽  
Robotic Manipulators ◽  
Sensors And Actuators ◽  
Backbone Curve ◽  
Continuum Robots ◽  
Soft Robots ◽  
Load Cells ◽  
Simulation Results ◽  
Shape Sensing

Soft robotic manipulators are continuum robots made of soft materials that undergo continuous elastic deformation and produce motion with a smooth backbone curve. These manipulators offer significant advantages over traditional manipulators due to their ability to conform to their surroundings, move with dexterity and manipulate objects of widely varying size using whole arm manipulation. Theoretically, soft robots have infinite degrees of freedom (dof), but the number of sensors and actuators are limited. Many dofs of soft robots are not directly observable and/or controllable, complicating shape sensing and controlling. In this paper, we present two methods of shape sensing for soft robotic manipulators based on a geometrically exact mechanical model. The first method use s load cells mounted at the base of the manipulator and the second method makes use of cable encoders running through the length of the manipulator. Simulation results show an endpoint localization error of less than 3% of manipulator length.

Model-Based Shape Estimation for Soft Robotic Manipulators: The Planar Case

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepak Trivedi ◽  
Christopher D. Rahn
Keyword(s):  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Soft Materials ◽  
Robotic Manipulators ◽  
Shape Estimation ◽  
Sensors And Actuators ◽  
Backbone Curve ◽  
Planar Case ◽  
Soft Robots ◽  
Estimation And Control ◽  
Shape Sensing

Soft robotic manipulators are continuum robots made of soft materials that undergo continuous elastic deformation and produce motion with a smooth backbone curve. In many applications, these manipulators offer significant advantages over traditional manipulators due to their ability to conform to their surroundings, and manipulate objects of widely varying size using whole arm manipulation. Theoretically, soft robots have infinite degrees of freedom (DOF), but the number of sensors and actuators are limited. Many DOFs of soft robots are not directly observable and/or controllable, complicating shape estimation and control. In this paper, we present three methods of shape sensing for soft robotic manipulators based on a geometrically exact mechanical model. The first method uses load cells mounted at the base of the manipulator, the second method makes use of cable encoders running through the length of the manipulator, and the third method uses inclinometers mounted at the end of each section of the manipulator. Simulation results show an endpoint localization error of less than 3% of manipulator length with typical sensors. The methods are validated experimentally on the OctArm VI manipulator.

Price structures for electricity supply and potential consequences for building services systems

2021 ◽  
pp. 014362442199081
Author(s):  
Roger Hitchin
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effective ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Electricity Supply ◽  
Cooling Systems ◽  
Price Structure ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Future System ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Supply Systems ◽  
Effective Design

Policies to reduce carbon emissions are leading to substantial changes in the demand for electricity and to the structure of electricity supply systems, which will alter the cost structure of electricity supply. This can be expected to result in corresponding changes to the price structure faced by customers. This note is an initial exploration of how possible new price structures may impact on HVAC system and building design and use. Changes in the price structure of electricity supply (separately from changes in price levels) can significantly affect the cost-effective design and operation of building services systems; especially of heating and cooling systems. The nature and implications of these changes can have important implications for future system design and operation.

Polymorphic Control for Cost-Effective Design of Optical Networks

2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiao Chunming ◽  
Mei Yousong ◽  
Yoo Myungsik ◽  
Zhang Xijun
Keyword(s):  
Optical Networks ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Effective Design
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