A control method, device and computer storage medium for a soft robot

Abstract

The present application discloses a control method, device and computer storage medium for a soft robot, wherein each array structure is driven by a separate drive module to implement a redundant control strategy, and any combination of several array structures generates circumferential motion at different angles to achieve arbitrary trajectory tracking; the control method includes: generating the operation information of the soft robot based on a preset path; generating the drive information of each soft muscle array structure according to the operation information of the soft robot; inputting the drive information of each soft muscle array structure into the corresponding drive module, so that the drive module drives the soft muscle array structure according to the drive information, and controls the soft robot to run according to the preset path. In the above manner, the soft robot provided by the present application can realize multi-directional, multi-point and multi-modal control schemes by independently driving each soft muscle array structure, and can effectively realize functions such as automatic obstacle avoidance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of soft robots, and in particular to a control method, device, and computer storage medium for a soft robot. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of soft robotics, various control schemes have emerged. However, most cannot achieve free movement, only simple forward motion, and lack path correction capabilities. Such schemes have significant drawbacks in practical applications. How to control the multi-directional and even omnidirectional highly adaptable and precise movement of soft robots is a problem worth further investigation.

[0003] Existing soft robot solutions often rely on controlling a single or multiple drive modules in the same direction, resulting in limited single-directional motion. While these control schemes can meet the requirements for soft robot motion, they lack adaptability to practical application demands. Specifically, they lack the ability to precisely control the soft robot's direction of motion, such as turning and reversing, which are essential in practical applications. However, these solutions fail to consider the soft robot's ability to handle complex real-world applications. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application mainly provides a control method, device and computer storage medium for a soft robot to solve the problem that soft robots in the prior art can only achieve simple forward and backward movement, and to realize omnidirectional motion control of the soft robot.

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, the present application adopts a technical solution: providing a control method for a soft robot, wherein the soft robot includes an array structure composed of a plurality of soft muscles, wherein the plurality of array structures extend in different circumferential directions, and each array structure is driven by a separate drive module to implement a redundant control strategy. The plurality of array structures can be arbitrarily combined to generate circumferential motion at different angles, thereby achieving arbitrary trajectory tracking.

[0006] The control method comprises:

[0007] Generate operation information of the soft robot based on a preset path;

[0008] generating driving information for each soft muscle array structure according to the operation information of the soft robot;

[0009] The driving information of each soft muscle array structure is input into the corresponding driving module, so that the driving module drives the soft muscle array structure according to the driving information and controls the soft robot to run according to the preset path.

[0010] According to an embodiment provided by the present application, the control method further includes:

[0011] Obtaining an actual path of the soft robot;

[0012] Calculating the error between the actual path and the preset path;

[0013] When the error is less than or equal to the allowable error threshold, continue to drive the soft robot according to the driving information generated by the preset path until it reaches the end point of the preset path;

[0014] When the error is greater than the allowable error threshold, an adjustment amount is calculated based on the error, the adjustment amount is used to adjust the driving information generated by the preset path, and the soft robot is driven to operate according to the adjusted driving information.

[0015] According to an embodiment of the present application, calculating an adjustment amount based on the error and adjusting the driving information generated by the preset path using the adjustment amount includes:

[0016] Inputting the error into a preset frequency controller to obtain a frequency adjustment value output by the preset frequency controller;

[0017] Based on the frequency adjustment amount, obtaining a speed adjustment amount;

[0018] The speed adjustment amount is used to adjust the driving information generated by the preset path.

[0019] According to an embodiment provided by the present application, the control method further includes:

[0020] When the error is greater than the allowable error threshold, the counter is incremented by 1.

[0021] Monitor whether the accumulated count of the counter reaches a preset count threshold;

[0022] If so, the current of each driving module is detected to confirm the circuit integrity of each driving module, and the driving module with an incomplete circuit is marked as an abnormal driving module.

[0023] According to an embodiment provided by the present application, the control method further includes:

[0024] Obtaining the number of normal driving modules in the soft robot;

[0025] When the number of the normal driving modules is greater than or equal to a preset number threshold, continue driving the soft robot;

[0026] When the number of the normal driving modules is less than a preset number threshold, the operation of the soft robot is stopped.

[0027] According to an embodiment provided by the present application, the control method further includes:

[0028] When the number of the normal driving modules is greater than or equal to a preset number threshold, obtaining an angle between the abnormal driving module and its adjacent normal driving modules;

[0029] When the angle is less than or equal to a preset angle threshold, shielding the abnormal driving module;

[0030] When the angle is greater than a preset angle threshold, the operation of the soft robot is stopped.

[0031] According to an embodiment provided by the present application, the control method further includes:

[0032] When the error is smaller than the allowable error threshold, the counter is reset.

[0033] According to an embodiment provided by the present application, the driving information is a pulse width modulation wave generated by a single chip microcomputer;

[0034] Before inputting the driving information of each soft muscle array structure into the corresponding driving module, the control method further includes:

[0035] The pulse width modulation wave is amplified by a field effect transistor.

[0036] According to an embodiment provided by the present application, the pulse width modulation wave includes, in sequence: a trough, a rising edge, a peak, a falling edge, and a trough;

[0037] The step of driving the soft muscle array structure according to the driving information includes:

[0038] Driving the front legs of the soft muscle array structure to contract according to the rising edge band of the pulse width modulation wave;

[0039] Driving the hind legs of the soft muscle array structure to contract and move forward according to the peak wave band of the pulse width modulation wave;

[0040] The front legs of the soft muscle array structure are driven to move forward according to the trough band of the pulse width modulation wave.

[0041] In order to solve the above technical problems, another technical solution adopted by the present application is: providing a control device for a soft robot, the control device comprising: a planning module, a driving module and a control module, wherein;

[0042] The planning module is used to generate the operation information of the soft robot based on a preset path;

[0043] The driving module is used to generate driving information for each soft muscle array structure according to the operation information of the soft robot;

[0044] The control module is used to input the driving information of each soft muscle array structure into the corresponding driving module, so that the driving module drives the soft muscle array structure according to the driving information and controls the soft robot to run according to the preset path.

[0045] In order to solve the above technical problems, another technical solution adopted by the present application is: providing a control device for a soft robot, the control device comprising a memory and a processor coupled to the memory;

[0046] The memory is used to store program data, and the processor is used to execute the program data to implement the control method as described above.

[0047] In order to solve the above technical problems, another technical solution adopted in the present application is: providing a computer storage medium, wherein the computer storage medium is used to store program data, and the program data is used to implement the above control method when executed by a computer.

[0048] The present application provides a control method, device and computer storage medium for a soft robot, wherein the soft robot includes an array structure composed of several soft muscles, wherein the several array structures extend in different directions of the circumference, and each array structure is driven by a separate drive module to implement a redundant control strategy, and any combination of the several array structures generates circumferential motion at different angles to implement arbitrary trajectory tracking; the control method includes: generating the operation information of the soft robot based on a preset path; generating the drive information of each soft muscle array structure according to the operation information of the soft robot; inputting the drive information of each soft muscle array structure into the corresponding drive module, so that the drive module drives the soft muscle array structure according to the drive information, and controls the soft robot to run according to the preset path. In the above manner, the soft robot provided by the present application can realize multi-directional, multi-point and multi-modal control schemes by independently driving each soft muscle array structure, and can effectively realize functions such as automatic obstacle avoidance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0049] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for describing the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can also derive other drawings based on these drawings without inventive work, among which:

[0050] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of an embodiment of the soft muscle module provided by the present application;

[0051] Figure 2 This is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a substrate provided by the present application;

[0052] Figure 3 This is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a soft robot provided by the present application;

[0053] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the process of making a soft robot provided by this application;

[0054] Figure 5 This is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a five-legged soft robot provided by the present application;

[0055] Figure 6 This is a structural diagram of an embodiment of a hexapod soft robot provided by the present application;

[0056] Figure 7 This is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of an octapod soft robot provided by the present application;

[0057] Figure 8 This is a structural diagram of an embodiment of a soft leg structure provided by the present application;

[0058] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the gait and state principle of the soft robot provided by this application;

[0059] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the principle of synthesizing the speed and direction of the soft robot provided by this application;

[0060] Figure 11 This is a flow chart of an embodiment of a control method for a soft robot provided by the present application;

[0061] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the overall flow of the control method for the soft robot provided by this application;

[0062] Figure 13 It is a schematic diagram of the state diagram corresponding to the pulse width modulation wave provided by this application;

[0063] Figure 14 is a flow chart of another embodiment of the control method of the soft robot provided by the present application;

[0064] Figure 15 It is a schematic diagram of the overall correction process provided by this application;

[0065] Figure 16 It is a schematic diagram of the correction process provided by this application;

[0066] Figure 17 It is a schematic diagram of the redundancy process provided by this application;

[0067] Figure 18 This is a structural diagram of an embodiment of a control device for a mobile robot provided by the present application;

[0068] Figure 19 is a structural schematic diagram of another embodiment of the control device of the mobile robot provided by the present application;

[0069] Figure 20 It is a structural diagram of an embodiment of a computer storage medium provided by this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0070] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0071] It should be noted that if the embodiments of the present application involve directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.), the directional indications are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. between the various components under a certain specific posture (as shown in the accompanying drawings). If the specific posture changes, the directional indications will also change accordingly.

[0072] In addition, if there are descriptions involving "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present application, the descriptions of "first", "second", etc. are only for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of such features. In addition, the technical solutions between the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but they must be based on the fact that they can be implemented by ordinary technicians in this field. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be deemed that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by this application.

[0073] The soft robot control method of the present application is applied to a soft robot. The following first introduces the relevant structures of the soft robot and its components:

[0074] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 It is a structural diagram of an embodiment of the soft muscle module provided by this application.

[0075] like Figure 1As described above, the soft muscle module 100 of the embodiment of the present application includes a base 11 and a memory alloy wire 12 .

[0076] A plurality of grooves 111 are provided in the base 11 , and the memory alloy wires 12 are fixed in the base 11 through the grooves 111 to form the soft muscle module 100 .

[0077] Specifically, the formation of the groove 111 is described in detail in Figure 2 , Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of a substrate provided in this application.

[0078] Figure 2 The base 11 is composed of a plurality of bottom plates 112 and a plurality of top plates 113. The bottom plates 112 are arranged in a first direction, and the top plates 113 are stacked on the top plates 113 in a second direction. The gaps between the top plates 113 form the grooves 111.

[0079] The staff can first lay several bottom plates 112 at the same intervals, and then lay several top plates 113 on the bottom plates 112 in a cross-over manner, thereby forming Figure 2 The base 11 shown in FIG. Among them, a plurality of top plates 113 can be arranged at the same interval, and the gaps between adjacent top plates 113 and the bottom bottom plate 112 form an accommodating space, namely Figure 2 The groove 111 is shown.

[0080] For example, in the embodiment of the present application, the staff can use a bottom plate 112 with a thickness of 0.2 mm and a top plate 113 with a thickness of 0.4 mm, and the width of the groove formed by the adjacent top plates 113 and the bottom plate 112, that is, the gap between the adjacent top plates 113 can be designed to be 1 mm, which can accommodate Figure 1 The memory alloy wire 12 is shown.

[0081] Specifically, the memory alloy wire 12 of the present embodiment generates heat when powered, and simultaneously contracts and deforms. Because the memory alloy wire 12 is embedded within the groove 111 of the base 11, the deformation of the memory alloy wire 12 simultaneously causes the soft muscle module 100 to deform as well. When the memory alloy wire 12 is powered off, it loses its contractile force, and the structural resilience of the structure drives the soft muscle module 100 back to its initial state.

[0082] Therefore, by controlling the frequency of the power supply to the memory alloy wire 12 and repeating this process, the soft muscle module 100 can achieve a controllable vibration frequency. Combined with the externally fixed leg structure, the soft robot can be controlled to move in a certain direction. By using different drive parameters, such as changing voltage and current, the vibration amplitude and force of the soft muscle module 100 can also be controlled, thereby adjusting parameters such as the soft robot's stride length and load-bearing performance.

[0083] Specifically, the control method of the soft muscle module 100 of the present application can be to use the comprehensive adjustment of various parameters of the PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) wave, for example, to control the frequency of heat generation.

[0084] In addition, the soft muscle module 100 can be specifically a rectangular grid with grooves 111. The memory alloy wire 12 is embedded in the grooves 111 of the soft muscle module 100 and encapsulated and isolated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), thereby forming a soft muscle module 100 that can be driven independently.

[0085] The soft muscle module of the present embodiment includes: a base body with a plurality of grooves; and a memory alloy wire fixedly disposed within the grooves. The memory alloy wire is configured to deform according to the magnitude of the current passing through it, thereby driving the deformation of the base body. Through this approach, the soft muscle module provided by the present application is independently driven by the memory alloy wire, enabling the multi-gait motion requirements of a soft robot.

[0086] Please continue reading Figure 3 and Figure 4 , Figure 3 This is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a soft robot provided by this application. Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the process of making a soft robot provided by this application.

[0087] It should be noted that the main structure of the soft robot 200 is a ternary copolymer of three monomers: acrylonitrile, butadiene, and styrene (ABS). It has a symmetrical structure through 3D printing and has structures ranging from four to eight legs. Figure 3 and Figure 4 This is only a specific embodiment, i.e., a four-legged soft robot. In other embodiments, robots with other numbers of legs can also be realized through the same inventive ideas and creations, such as Figure 5 The five-legged structure shown in Figure 6 The hexapod structure shown, Figure 7 The eight-legged structure shown, etc.

[0088] In the embodiments of this application, a three-legged soft robot can achieve the required functions of arbitrary orientation and multiple gaits. The design of more than three soft muscle modules can be considered a redundant structure, which can enhance the robustness of the soft robot. That is, if some modules fail to work properly, it will not affect the normal function of the soft robot. It also increases the soft robot's load capacity and the sensitivity and stability when performing tasks.

[0089] Specifically, Figure 3 The soft robot 200 shown includes a mold 21 and a plurality of soft muscle modules 22. The specific structure of the soft muscle modules 22 can be found in the soft muscle modules described in the above embodiment, and will not be described in detail here.

[0090] The mold 21 of the embodiment of the present application specifically includes a connecting member 211 located in the middle position and a receiving member 212 facing at least three different directions. It should be noted that the present application distinguishes between the connecting member 211 and the receiving member 212 only to better illustrate the mutual positional relationship, such as Figure 4 As shown, the mold 21 may also be an integrally formed mold 21 printed by a 3D printing mold.

[0091] Generally speaking, the number of the accommodating parts 212 and the soft muscle modules 22 should be the same, that is, Figure 3 The quadruped soft robot 200 shown includes four receiving parts 212 and corresponding four independently driven soft muscle modules 22 .

[0092] In other embodiments, the number of the accommodating parts 212 is greater than or equal to the number of the soft muscle modules 22. For example, a 3D printing mold is printed to generate Figure 7 When using the octapod structure soft robot 200 shown, the staff can also use only the four equiangularly distributed receiving parts 212 to place the soft muscle module 22. The structural form of the muscle octapod structure soft robot 200 can achieve the effect of the quadruped structure soft robot 200, which can effectively improve the flexibility and scalability of the soft robot 200.

[0093] Specifically, a connection hole (not shown in the figure) is provided in the connector 211 of the mold 21, wherein the connection hole is used to accommodate the memory alloy wires of the soft muscle modules 22, that is, Figure 4 The purpose of setting a circular or other shaped opening in the center of the mold 21 in this application is to facilitate the wiring of the memory alloy wire or circuit line, form a common negative electrode, effectively utilize the space of the soft robot 200, facilitate wiring, and reduce the overall weight of the soft robot 200.

[0094] For example, all the memory alloy wires of the soft robot 200 can be connected to the driving structure (not shown in the figure) at the same time through the connecting holes. The driving structure can transmit current to the corresponding memory alloy wire according to the driving parameters of each soft muscle module 22, thereby achieving the effect of independently driving each soft muscle module 22.

[0095] Furthermore, the soft robot 200 of the present application also includes a plurality of soft leg structures 23, one of which can be seen in Figure 8 The number of the soft leg structures 23 corresponds to the number of the accommodating parts 212 , and each soft leg structure 23 is fixed to one end of the soft muscle module 22 away from the connecting part 211 by an adhesive, and the soft leg structure 23 is arranged on the side of the soft muscle module 22 facing the memory alloy wire in the soft muscle module 22 .

[0096] The soft leg structure 23 of the present application can be made of polycarbonate, and the soft muscle module 23 can be combined with the soft leg structure 23 to form an independent soft muscle module array. The base 21 of the soft leg structure 23 can be directly generated by 3D printing.

[0097] A soft robot 200 generally includes several soft muscle module arrays. By synthesizing the speeds generated by the independent driving of the several soft muscle module arrays into a combined speed in different directions, the soft robot 200 can achieve the advantage of moving in different directions and even turning. In addition, because the individual motion of each soft muscle module array can be replaced by the combined motion of the remaining soft muscle module arrays, the soft robot 200 can also achieve redundant replacement of one or more soft muscle module arrays. On the one hand, this can reduce the number of independently driven soft muscle module arrays and reduce the power consumption of the soft robot 200. On the other hand, if some soft muscle module arrays are damaged, their functions can be replaced by other soft muscle module arrays, thereby ensuring the normal operation of the overall function of the soft robot 200.

[0098] The schematic diagram of the principle of controlling the gait and state of the soft robot 200 by multiple independent soft structure module arrays can be found in Figure 9 .like Figure 9 As shown, when the power is not turned on, the soft robot 200 shows the static state of state 1; when the power is turned on, according to the gradual increase of the current, the powered soft muscle module 22 is energized and contracted to produce deformation, and the soft robot 200 shows the motion states of state 2 and state 3, and moves in gait 1; when the power is turned off, the powered soft muscle module 22 loses its contraction force, and the rebound force of the structure drives the soft robot 200 back to the initial state, that is, it finally returns to state 1.

[0099] Furthermore, since each soft muscle module 22 can be independently controlled and produce different displacement directions and speeds, the speed of the soft robot 200 can be calculated by the following speed synthesis formula to obtain the magnitude and direction of the combined speed:

[0100]

[0101] Among them, V1 is the speed of the first soft muscle module, V2 is the speed of the second soft muscle module, α is the angle between the speed direction of the first soft muscle module and the speed direction of the second soft muscle module, and β is the angle between the combined speed direction of the soft robot and the speed direction of the first soft muscle module.

[0102] Please continue reading Figure 10 In this application, through speed synthesis, the soft robot 200 can obtain a combined speed in any direction by changing the speed in the vertical and horizontal directions, thereby achieving movement in any direction.

[0103] The soft muscle modules of the individual robotic legs of the soft robot of the present application are all identical, and can be arrayed to form a multi-legged soft robot. By using any number of soft muscle module arrays, the multi-legged soft structure can turn in any direction, and can also achieve a variety of gaits to meet different actual site conditions, such as obstacle crossing, climbing and other functions, and can adapt to more practical applications.

[0104] In the above Figures 1 to 10 Based on the soft robot, this application further proposes a control method based on the soft robot.

[0105] For details, please see Figure 11 and Figure 12 , Figure 11 This is a flow chart of an embodiment of a control method for a soft robot provided by the present application. Figure 12 The figure is a schematic diagram of the overall flow of the control method for a soft robot provided in this application. The soft robot of the embodiment of this application includes an array structure composed of several soft muscles, each of which extends in different directions around the circumference. Each array structure is driven by a separate drive module, implementing a redundant control strategy. Any combination of the array structures can generate motion at different angles around the circumference, enabling arbitrary trajectory tracking.

[0106] like Figure 11 As shown, the control method of the embodiment of the present application may specifically include the following steps:

[0107] Step S11: Generate the running information of the soft robot based on the preset path.

[0108] In the embodiment of the present application, the control device obtains the preset path of the soft robot, i.e., the pre-set running path of the soft robot, and generates the running information of the soft robot according to the pre-set running path of the soft robot. The running information of the soft robot includes, but is not limited to, the running position, running direction, running speed, running frequency, etc. of the soft robot.

[0109] Step S12: Generate driving information for each soft muscle array structure according to the operation information of the soft robot.

[0110] In an embodiment of the present application, a control device assigns drive information to each soft muscle array structure based on the soft robot's operational information, i.e., the soft robot's overall motion state. Specifically, the drive information for each soft muscle array structure can be a pulse width modulated wave generated by a single-chip microcomputer. Because each soft muscle array structure is independently driven by a separate drive module, each soft muscle array structure operates according to the assigned drive information, and the resulting operation constitutes the soft robot's operational information.

[0111] Please continue to read for details Figure 12 ,like Figure 12 As shown, the control device uses a single-chip microcomputer to generate a pulse width modulation wave, amplifies the pulse width modulation wave through a field effect transistor, and applies the pulse width modulation wave to the driving module of each soft muscle array structure, so that the driving module of each soft muscle array structure drives the soft muscle array to move according to the pulse width modulation wave, thereby driving the soft robot.

[0112] It should be noted that the single chip microcomputer can continuously generate pulse width modulation waves according to the running information of the soft robot, thereby supporting the soft robot to Figure 12 The control scheme shown operates continuously.

[0113] Step S13: inputting the driving information of each soft muscle array structure into the corresponding driving module, so that the driving module drives the soft muscle array structure according to the driving information and controls the soft robot to run along a preset path.

[0114] In the embodiment of this application, by Figure 13 The pulse width modulation wave corresponding state diagram shown further illustrates the principle by which the drive module drives each soft muscle array structure according to the pulse width modulation wave:

[0115] The drive module is controlled by a single chip microcomputer to generate a pulse width modulation wave, which is amplified by an amplifier module connected to a DC power supply and finally passed to the drive module. The user can adjust the parameters of the pulse width modulation wave generated by the single chip microcomputer, such as frequency, voltage, current, duty cycle, etc. to control the movement speed, movement force, step length and other parameters of the drive module. The entire control process is as follows Figure 13As shown in the figure: in one cycle, (1) the pulse width modulation wave first experiences the trough, at which time the circuit is not conducting and the soft robot does not move; (2) the pulse width modulation wave reaches the rising edge, at which time the circuit is conducting, the soft robot begins to deform, and the front legs contract; (3) the pulse width modulation wave reaches the peak, at which time the soft robot fully deforms, driving the hind legs to contract and move forward; (4) the pulse width modulation wave reaches the falling edge, at which time the heat generated by the soft robot decreases, and the restoring force of the soft robot gradually becomes greater than the bending force; (5) the pulse width modulation wave returns to the trough, at which time only the restoring force of the soft robot exists, causing the soft robot to stretch, causing the front legs to move forward, and finally completing a complete single step. Repeating the above steps, the soft robot can continuously take steps forward and achieve movement.

[0116] It should be noted that Figure 13 The figure shows a driving method of a soft muscle array structure, and the entire soft robot uses multiple soft muscle array structures through Figure 10 The speed and direction synthesis method shown above can obtain the overall motion information of the soft robot.

[0117] In an embodiment of the present application, the soft robot includes an array structure composed of several soft muscles, the several array structures extend in different directions of the circumference, and each array structure is driven by a separate drive module to implement a redundant control strategy. Any combination of the several array structures produces circumferential motion at different angles to achieve arbitrary trajectory tracking; the control method includes: generating the operation information of the soft robot based on a preset path; generating the drive information of each soft muscle array structure according to the operation information of the soft robot; inputting the drive information of each soft muscle array structure into the corresponding drive module, so that the drive module drives the soft muscle array structure according to the drive information, and controls the soft robot to run according to the preset path. In the above manner, the soft robot provided by the present application can realize multi-directional, multi-point, and multi-modal control schemes by independently driving each soft muscle array structure.

[0118] Please continue reading Figure 14 , Figure 14 This is a flow chart of another embodiment of the control method of the soft robot provided by the present application.

[0119] Because soft robots are different from rigid robots, there are flexible interferences in their movement process. At the same time, changes in the environment will also affect the movement of soft robots, making their movement direction not always in line with expectations. Generally, soft robot control solutions do not have the function of correction. However, this application uses a special structure to achieve dynamic correction during movement. The correction process is as follows: Figure 14 and Figure 15 As shown:

[0120] like Figure 14 As shown, the control method of the embodiment of the present application may specifically include the following steps:

[0121] Step S21: Obtain the actual path of the soft robot.

[0122] Step S22: Calculate the error between the actual path and the preset path.

[0123] In the embodiment of the present application, after the soft robot moves along a preset path or predetermined point, it detects whether there is a deviation between the actual path and the preset path based on visual feedback and gyroscope, and determines whether adjustment is needed. If the error is within the allowable range, it can be considered as error-free. The specific judgment formula is as follows:

[0124] e(error with target)≤|ε|(allowable error range)

[0125] Step S23: When the error is less than or equal to the allowable error threshold, the soft robot continues to be driven according to the driving information generated by the preset path until it reaches the end point of the preset path.

[0126] In the embodiment of the present application, if the error with the target is less than a specified range, it is determined whether the end point has been reached. If the end point has been reached, the vehicle stops; otherwise, the vehicle continues to move.

[0127] Step S24: When the error is greater than the allowable error threshold, an adjustment amount is calculated based on the error, the adjustment amount is used to adjust the driving information generated by the preset path, and the soft robot is driven to operate according to the adjusted driving information.

[0128] In the embodiment of the present application, if the error with the target is greater than or equal to the specified range, the process will proceed as follows: Figure 15 The overall correction process shown uses the PID (proportional, integral, differential) formula to control the operating speed of each drive module to achieve the purpose of controlling the path and point position. Among them, the PID formula provided in this application is as follows:

[0129]

[0130] Among them, K p is the proportional gain; T t is the integration time constant; T D is the differential time constant; u(t) is the output signal of the PID controller; e(t) is the difference between the given value r(t) and the measured value.

[0131] The specific control methods include adjusting the target voltage, current, frequency, duty cycle, etc., and the counter is incremented after completing a correction, and is reset to zero after there is no error.

[0132] It is worth noting that the soft robot has the highest efficiency at a certain frequency, which can be regarded as the natural frequency of the soft robot. The law is shown in the following formula:

[0133]

[0134] Where f is the measurement frequency, m is the mass, L s is the length, k is the stiffness, E is the Young's modulus, and I is the moment of inertia.

[0135] If the length of the elastic body and the number of memory alloys remain unchanged, the stiffness remains unchanged, and the speed and deformation are related to the voltage and frequency, so the motion law is shown in the following formula:

[0136] v=Δs×f

[0137] Among them, v is the movement speed, Δs is the step size, and f is the movement frequency.

[0138] like Figure 15 As shown in the overall correction flow chart, if the counter accumulates more times than the threshold, the self-test program will be triggered. Specifically, the current of each drive module is detected by the sensor to detect the integrity of the circuit. If the circuit is complete, the obstacle avoidance mode will be entered; if the circuit is incomplete, the redundant replacement mode will be entered, and the intact drive module will be used to replace the damaged one for normal movement.

[0139] in, Figure 16 In the illustrated correction process, the target speed deviation direction is first determined based on the received signal. The speed adjustment required in the target direction is then calculated. If the driver module in the deviation direction is faster, that driver module is decelerated. If the driver module in the deviation direction is slower, the speed in the other direction is accelerated. When the acceleration exceeds the limit, the speed in the deviation direction is also slowed.

[0140] In the embodiment of the present application, the speed is mainly controlled by adjusting the frequency. Within a certain frequency range, the frequency and speed are linearly related. The PID formula for controlling the frequency is shown in the following formula:

[0141] V=K f ×f

[0142]

[0143] Among them, K f is the frequency proportional constant; K p is the proportional constant; K i is the integration constant; K d ——Differential constant; f(k) is the output signal of the frequency PID controller; e(k) is the difference between the target value r(k) and the measured value.

[0144] Since each pair of drive modules in the control scheme of this application can be controlled independently and produce different displacement directions and speeds, the magnitude and direction of the combined speed can be obtained from the speed synthesis formula as shown in the following formula, which can achieve the following: Figure 10 The effect shown here controls the movement direction of the soft robot:

[0145]

[0146] Furthermore, when the soft robot array structure exceeds 3, the redundant structures can be regarded as redundant structures. These redundant modules can increase the accuracy of the soft robot control and also increase the robot's carrying capacity.

[0147] When some modules of the soft robot fail to work properly due to abnormalities, the redundant structure can also provide a certain degree of robustness. Figure 17 As shown, the system first determines the damaged module based on the feedback from the driver module's on / off state. It then calculates the angle α between the damaged module and adjacent modules. When α is less than 180°, the control device blocks the damaged module and updates the α value in the program. When α is greater than 180°, the soft robot is deemed to be malfunctioning and the control device halts its movement, awaiting human intervention.

[0148] In an embodiment of the present application, a control scheme for a soft robot drive module structure is provided; it is capable of controlling the combination of multiple legs to achieve arbitrary multi-point movement and to correct the trajectory, and can be controlled more accurately, in line with actual application conditions; the control scheme can separately control paired drive modules, and change the step frequency and step length of the soft robot by adjusting the frequency, voltage and other parameters of the pulse width modulation wave, thereby achieving multimodal movement, and being able to realize functions such as obstacle crossing and climbing.

[0149] The above embodiment is only one common case of the present application and does not limit the technical scope of the present application. Therefore, any minor modifications, equivalent changes or modifications made to the above content based on the essence of the present application solution are still within the scope of the technical solution of the present application.

[0150] Please continue to see Figure 18 , Figure 18 FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a structure of an embodiment of a control device for a mobile robot provided by the present application, wherein the control device 30 includes a planning module 31 , a driving module 32 and a control module 33 .

[0151] The planning module 31 is used to generate the operation information of the soft robot based on a preset path.

[0152] The driving module 32 is used to generate driving information for each soft muscle array structure according to the operation information of the soft robot.

[0153] The control module 33 is used to input the driving information of each soft muscle array structure into the corresponding driving module, so that the driving module drives the soft muscle array structure according to the driving information and controls the soft robot to run according to the preset path.

[0154] Please continue to see Figure 18 , Figure 18 FIG2 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a control device for a mobile robot provided by the present application. The control device 500 of the embodiment of the present application includes a processor 51 , a memory 52 , an input / output device 53 , and a bus 54 .

[0155] The processor 51 , the memory 52 , and the input / output device 53 are respectively connected to a bus 54 . The memory 52 stores program data, and the processor 51 is used to execute the program data to implement the control method described in the above embodiment.

[0156] In the embodiment of the present application, the processor 51 may also be referred to as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor 51 may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. The processor 51 may also be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor 51 may be any conventional processor.

[0157] This application also provides a computer storage medium, please continue to refer to Figure 19 , Figure 19 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a computer storage medium provided in the present application. The computer storage medium 600 stores program data 61. When the program data 61 is executed by a processor, it is used to implement the control method of the above embodiment.

[0158] When the embodiments of the present application are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0159] The above description is merely an embodiment of the present application and does not limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the present application specification and drawings, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A control method for a soft robot, characterized in that: The soft robot includes an array structure composed of several soft muscles, each of which extends in different directions of the circumference. Each array structure is driven by a separate drive module to implement a redundant control strategy. Any combination of the array structures can generate circumferential motion at different angles, thereby achieving arbitrary trajectory tracking. The control method comprises: Generate operation information of the soft robot based on a preset path; generating driving information for each soft muscle array structure according to the operation information of the soft robot; Inputting the driving information of each soft muscle array structure into a corresponding driving module, so that the driving module drives the soft muscle array structure according to the driving information and controls the soft robot to run according to the preset path; Wherein, the control method further includes: Obtaining an actual path of the soft robot; Calculating the error between the actual path and the preset path; When the error is less than or equal to the allowable error threshold, continue to drive the soft robot according to the driving information generated by the preset path until it reaches the end point of the preset path; When the error is greater than the allowable error threshold, calculating an adjustment amount based on the error, adjusting the driving information generated by the preset path using the adjustment amount, and driving the soft robot to operate according to the adjusted driving information; The control method further includes: When the error is greater than the allowable error threshold, the counter is incremented by 1. Monitor whether the accumulated count of the counter reaches a preset count threshold; If so, the current of each driving module is detected to confirm the circuit integrity of each driving module, and the driving module with an incomplete circuit is marked as an abnormal driving module.

2. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The calculating an adjustment amount based on the error and adjusting the driving information generated by the preset path using the adjustment amount includes: Inputting the error into a preset frequency controller to obtain a frequency adjustment value output by the preset frequency controller; Based on the frequency adjustment amount, obtaining a speed adjustment amount; The speed adjustment amount is used to adjust the driving information generated by the preset path.

3. The control method according to claim 1, wherein: The control method further includes: Obtaining the number of normal driving modules in the soft robot; When the number of the normal driving modules is greater than or equal to a preset number threshold, continue driving the soft robot; When the number of the normal driving modules is less than a preset number threshold, the operation of the soft robot is stopped.

4. The control method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The control method further includes: When the number of the normal driving modules is greater than or equal to a preset number threshold, obtaining an angle between the abnormal driving module and its adjacent normal driving modules; When the angle is less than or equal to a preset angle threshold, shielding the abnormal driving module; When the angle is greater than a preset angle threshold, the operation of the soft robot is stopped.

5. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control method further includes: When the error is smaller than the allowable error threshold, the counter is reset.

6. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving information is a pulse width modulation wave generated by the single chip microcomputer; Before inputting the driving information of each soft muscle array structure into the corresponding driving module, the control method further includes: The pulse width modulation wave is amplified by a field effect transistor.

7. The control method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The pulse width modulation wave includes: a trough, a rising edge, a peak, a falling edge, and a trough in sequence; The step of driving the soft muscle array structure according to the driving information includes: Driving the front legs of the soft muscle array structure to contract according to the rising edge band of the pulse width modulation wave; Driving the hind legs of the soft muscle array structure to contract and move forward according to the peak wave band of the pulse width modulation wave; The front legs of the soft muscle array structure are driven to move forward according to the trough band of the pulse width modulation wave.

8. A control device for a soft robot, characterized in that: The control device executes the control method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, and the control device comprises: a planning module, a driving module and a control module, wherein; The planning module is used to generate the operation information of the soft robot based on a preset path; The driving module is used to generate driving information for each soft muscle array structure according to the operation information of the soft robot; The control module is used to input the driving information of each soft muscle array structure into the corresponding driving module, so that the driving module drives the soft muscle array structure according to the driving information and controls the soft robot to run according to the preset path.

9. A control device for a soft robot, characterized in that: The control device includes a memory and a processor coupled to the memory; The memory is used to store program data, and the processor is used to execute the program data to implement the control method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A computer storage medium, characterized in that The computer storage medium is used to store program data, and when the program data is executed by a computer, it is used to implement the control method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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