Related papers: Towards artificial muscles
Virtual human techniques have been used a lot in industrial design in order to consider human factors and ergonomics as early as possible. The physical status (the physical capacity of virtual human) has been mostly treated as invariable in…
Compared to conventional robots, flexible manipulators offer many advantages, such as faster end-effector velocities and less energy consumption. However, their flexible structure can lead to undesired oscillations. Therefore, the applied…
Recent studies have demonstrated the immense potential of exploiting muscle actuator morphology for natural and robust movement -- in simulation. A validation on real robotic hardware is yet missing. In this study, we emulate muscle…
In this paper, a consistent theory is developed for size-dependent piezoelectricity in dielectric solids. This theory shows that electric polarization can be generated as the result of coupling to the mean curvature tensor, unlike previous…
Although the development of spintronic devices has advanced significantly over the past decade with the use of ferromagnetic materials, the extensive implementation of such devices has been limited by the notable drawbacks of these…
In the present paper we investigate the mechanics of systems of affinely-rigid bodies, i.e., bodies rigid in the sense of affine geometry. Certain physical applications are possible in modelling of molecular crystals, granular media, and…
Modeling contact between deformable solids is a fundamental problem in computer animation, mechanical design, and robotics. Existing methods based on $C^0$-discretizations -- piece-wise linear or polynomial surfaces -- suffer from…
Liquid crystal elastomers contract along their director on heating and recover on cooling, offering great potential as actuators and artificial muscles. If a flat sheet is programmed with a spatially varying director pattern, it will…
Compliant walls are widespread in biological and engineering systems. Because of their singular nature, adapted tools are required to accurately study their rheological properties as well as the consequences of the latter within a given…
Common disabilities like stroke and spinal cord injuries may cause loss of motor function in hands. They can be treated with robot assisted rehabilitation techniques, like continuously opening and closing the hand with help of a robot, in a…
Soft porous materials, such as biological tissues and soils, are exposed to periodic deformations in a variety of natural and industrial contexts. The detailed flow and mechanics of these deformations have not yet been systematically…
This paper present a novel dual-speed actuator adapted to robotics. In many applications, robots have to bear large loads while moving slowly and also have to move quickly through the air with almost no load. This lead to conflicting…
This paper discusses and contests the claims of ``Soft Pneumatic Actuator Fascicles for High Force and Reliability'' a research article which was originally published in the March 2017 issue of the Journal Soft Robotics. The original paper…
Soft solids differ from stiff solids in an important way: their surface stresses can drive large deformations. Based on a topical workshop held in the Lorentz Center in Leiden, this Opinion highlights some recent advances in the growing…
Photomechanically active materials undergo reversible deformation on illumination, making them ideal for remote, tether-free actuation. Much of the work on these materials has focused on one-dimensional structures, such as strips. In this…
The multi-agent system has been a hot topic in the past few decades owing to its lower cost, higher robustness, and higher flexibility. As a particular multi-agent system, the multiple rigid body system received a growing interest for its…
While assistive robots have much potential to help older people with frailty-related needs, there are few in use. There is a gap between what is developed in laboratories and what would be viable in real-world contexts. Through a series of…
Modern particle accelerators and high-energy physics experiments that deployed up to several hundred of accelerating superconducting RF cavities require accurate frequency control. This is achieved by using cavity tuners typically actuated…
Many soft robots struggle to produce dynamic motions with fast, large displacements. We develop a parallel 6 degree-of-freedom (DoF) Stewart-Gough mechanism using Handed Shearing Auxetic (HSA) actuators. By using soft actuators, we are able…
Soft robots, in contrast to their rigid counter parts, have infinite degrees of freedom that are coupled with their interaction with the environment. We consider the locomotion of an untethered robot, in the granular medium, comprised of…