A multimodal soft robot composed of bionic muscle modules

Abstract

The present application discloses a multimodal soft robot composed of bionic muscle modules, the soft robot comprising: a base body, provided with a double-layer structure of a scaffolding frame; a memory alloy wire, embedded in the double-layer structure of the scaffolding frame, used to provide kinetic energy, and controlled by controlling the current parameters to heat and deform, thereby driving the base body to deform; a plurality of soft muscle modules, connected to the double-layer structure of the scaffolding frame, the plurality of soft muscle modules extend in different directions of the circumference, and each soft muscle module is driven by a separate memory alloy wire. By independently driving each soft muscle module in the above-mentioned multimodal soft robot through the memory alloy wire, the needs of multi-gait movement of the soft robot can be met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of soft robots, and in particular to a multimodal soft robot composed of bionic muscle modules. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of the field of soft robots, soft robots of various structures have emerged, but most of them cannot achieve free movement, can only achieve simple forward and backward movement, and do not have the functions of arbitrary direction movement, multi-point, and multi-gait. Such solutions have major defects in practical applications. How to achieve multi-directional or even omnidirectional, highly adaptable, and precise movement of soft robots is a problem worth further study.

[0003] Therefore, developing independently driven soft muscle modules has become an urgent task in the process of upgrading soft robots. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application mainly provides a soft muscle module and a soft robot to solve the problem that the soft robot in the prior art can only achieve simple forward and backward movement, and to realize omnidirectional motion control of the soft robot.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, a technical solution adopted in the present application is to provide a multimodal soft robot composed of bionic muscle modules, the soft robot comprising:

[0006] A base body is provided with a double-layer structure of a scaffolding frame;

[0007] The memory alloy wire is embedded in the double-layer structure of the scaffolding frame and is used to provide kinetic energy. The wire is controlled to heat up and deform by controlling the current parameters, thereby driving the matrix to deform.

[0008] A plurality of soft muscle modules are connected to the double-layer structure of the scaffolding frame. The plurality of soft muscle modules extend in different directions of the circumference, and each soft muscle module is driven by a separate memory alloy wire.

[0009] According to one embodiment provided in the present application, the number of the soft muscle modules is greater than or equal to 2.

[0010] According to an embodiment provided in the present application, the number of the soft muscle modules is greater than or equal to 3, and the soft muscle modules are distributed at equal angles in at least three different directions.

[0011] According to one embodiment provided in the present application, the soft robot also includes a plurality of soft leg structures, each of which is fixed to an end of the soft muscle module away from the center position of the substrate by an adhesive, and the soft leg structure is arranged on a side of the soft muscle module facing the memory alloy wire.

[0012] According to one embodiment provided in the present application, the soft leg structure is made of an elastomer made of PVC material.

[0013] According to an embodiment provided in the present application, the matrix is ​​made of a terpolymer consisting of three monomers: acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene.

[0014] According to an embodiment provided by the present application, the base is composed of a plurality of bottom plates and a plurality of top plates, and the two layers of plates form a scaffolding structure; wherein the plurality of bottom plates are arranged in a first direction, and the plurality of top plates are stacked on the plurality of bottom plates in a second direction, and the gaps between the plurality of top plates form the plurality of grooves. The first layer and the second layer have orthogonal textures to each other.

[0015] According to an embodiment provided in the present application, the memory alloy wire is isolated in the plurality of grooves by polydimethylsiloxane encapsulation.

[0016] According to one embodiment provided in the present application, the soft robot also includes a driving structure, which is connected to the memory alloy wire passing through the connecting hole. The driving structure is used to transmit current to the memory alloy wires of the several soft muscle modules according to different driving parameters, thereby independently driving each soft muscle module.

[0017] The present application provides a multimodal soft robot composed of bionic muscle modules, the soft robot comprising: a base body, provided with a double-layer structure of a scaffolding frame; a memory alloy wire, embedded in the double-layer structure of the scaffolding frame, used to provide kinetic energy, and to control its heat generation and deformation by controlling the current parameters, thereby driving the base body to deform; a plurality of soft muscle modules, connected to the double-layer structure of the scaffolding frame, the plurality of soft muscle modules extend in different directions of the circumference, and each soft muscle module is driven by a separate memory alloy wire. By independently driving each soft muscle module in the above-mentioned multimodal soft robot through the memory alloy wire, the needs of multi-gait movement of the soft robot can be met. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments are briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work, among which:

[0019] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of a multimodal soft robot provided by the present application;

[0020] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of a double-layer structure of a scaffolding frame provided by the present application;

[0021] Figure 3 is a structural schematic diagram of another embodiment of the multimodal soft robot provided by the present application;

[0022] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the process of making a multimodal soft robot provided by this application;

[0023] Figure 5 It is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of a five-legged soft robot provided by the present application;

[0024] Figure 6 It is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of a hexapod soft robot provided by the present application;

[0025] Figure 7 It is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of an octapod soft robot provided by the present application;

[0026] Figure 8 It is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of a soft leg structure provided by the present application;

[0027] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of the gait and state principle of the soft robot provided by this application;

[0028] Fig.10 It is a schematic diagram of the principle of synthesis of speed magnitude and direction of the soft robot provided in this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0030] It should be noted that if the embodiments of the present application involve directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back...), the directional indications are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. between the components under a certain specific posture (as shown in the accompanying drawings). If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0031] 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 used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or suggesting their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In addition, the technical solutions between the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but they must be based on the ability of ordinary technicians in the field to implement them. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be deemed that such combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by this application.

[0032] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of a multimodal soft robot provided by the present application.

[0033] like Figure 1 As described above, the multimodal soft robot 100 composed of bionic muscle modules in the embodiment of the present application includes a base 11, which is provided with a double-layer structure of a scaffolding frame.

[0034] The memory alloy wire 12 is embedded in the double-layer structure of the scaffolding frame and is used to provide kinetic energy. The heat generated by the wire 12 is controlled by controlling the current parameters to cause the wire 12 to deform, thereby driving the matrix to deform.

[0035] A plurality of soft muscle modules 13 are connected to the double-layer structure of the scaffolding frame. The plurality of soft muscle modules 13 extend in different directions of the circumference, and each soft muscle module is driven by a separate memory alloy wire 12 .

[0036] Specifically, the double-layer structure of the scaffolding frame of the base 11 is specifically referred to in Figure 2 , Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of a double-layer structure of a scaffolding frame provided in the present application.

[0037] A plurality of grooves 111 are provided in the double-layer structure of the scaffolding frame, and the memory alloy wires 12 are fixed in the base body 11 through the grooves 111 to form a soft muscle module 13 .

[0038] Figure 2The double-layer structure of the scaffolding frame is composed of a plurality of bottom plates 112 and a plurality of top plates 113. The plurality of bottom plates 112 are arranged in a first direction, the plurality of top plates 113 are stacked on the plurality of top plates 113 in a second direction, and the gaps between the plurality of top plates 113 form the plurality of grooves 111. The plurality of bottom plates 112 and the plurality of top plates 113 have orthogonal textures to each other.

[0039] The staff can first lay several bottom plates 112 at the same interval, and then lay several top plates 113 on the several bottom plates 112 in a cross-over manner, thereby forming Figure 2 The scaffolding frame has a double-layer structure. Among them, a plurality of top panels 113 can be arranged at the same interval, and the gap between adjacent top panels 113 and the bottom bottom panel 112 form a containing space, that is, Figure 2 The groove 111 is shown.

[0040] 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 adjacent top plates 113 and bottom plates 112, that is, the gap between adjacent top plates 113 can be designed to be 1 mm, which can accommodate Figure 1 The memory alloy wire 12 is shown.

[0041] Specifically, the memory alloy wire 12 of the embodiment of the present application will generate heat after being powered on, and will shrink and deform. Since the memory alloy wire 12 is embedded in the groove 111 of the substrate 11, the deformation of the memory alloy wire 12 will drive the soft muscle module 100 to deform together. When the memory alloy wire 12 is powered off, the memory alloy wire 12 loses its contraction force, and the resilience of the structure will drive the soft muscle module 100 back to its initial state.

[0042] Therefore, by controlling the frequency of the memory alloy wire 12 being energized and repeating this process, the soft muscle module 13 can obtain a controllable vibration frequency, and with the leg structure fixed to the outside, the soft robot 100 can be controlled to move in a certain direction. If different driving parameters are used, such as changing the voltage, current and other parameters, the vibration amplitude and the magnitude of the vibration force of the soft muscle module 13 can also be controlled to adjust the parameters such as the stride and load-bearing performance of the soft robot 100.

[0043] Specifically, the control method of the soft muscle module 13 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.

[0044] In addition, the substrate 11 can be specifically a rectangular grid with grooves 111, and the memory alloy wire 12 is embedded in the grooves 111 of the substrate 11 and encapsulated and isolated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), thereby forming a soft muscle module 13 that can be driven independently.

[0045] The soft robot 100 of the embodiment of the present application includes: a base 11, which is provided with a double-layer structure of a scaffolding frame; a memory alloy wire 12, which is embedded in the double-layer structure of the scaffolding frame and is used to provide kinetic energy, and controls its heat generation and deformation by controlling the current parameters, thereby driving the base 11 to deform; a plurality of soft muscle modules 13, which are connected to the double-layer structure of the scaffolding frame, and the plurality of soft muscle modules 13 extend in different directions of the circumference, and each soft muscle module 13 is driven by a separate memory alloy wire 12. By independently driving each soft muscle module 13 in the above-mentioned multimodal soft robot 100 through the memory alloy wire 12, the requirements of multi-gait movement of the soft robot 100 can be met.

[0046] Please continue reading Figure 3 and Figure 4 , Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of the multimodal soft robot provided by the present application, Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the process of making a multimodal soft robot provided in this application.

[0047] 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). Through the symmetrical structure of 3D printing, it 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 in Figure 7 The octapod structure shown, etc.

[0048] In the embodiment of the present application, the three-legged soft robot can achieve the required functions of arbitrary direction, multiple gaits, etc. The design of more than three soft muscle modules can be regarded as a redundant structure, which can enhance the robustness of the soft robot, that is, when some modules fail to work properly, it will not affect the normal function of the soft robot, and at the same time, it can also increase the carrying capacity of the soft robot and the sensitivity and stability when performing tasks.

[0049] The mold 21 of the embodiment of the present application specifically includes a connector 211 located in the middle, and a receiving part 212 facing at least three different directions. Correspondingly, the base (not shown in the figure) received by the mold 21 is provided with a connecting hole at the corresponding position of the connector 211, and the connecting hole is used to receive the memory alloy wire connecting several soft muscle modules. It should be noted that the present application distinguishes between the connector 211 and the receiving part 212 only to better indicate the relative position relationship, such as Figure 4 As shown, the mold 21 may also be an integrally formed mold 21 printed by a 3D printing mold.

[0050] Generally speaking, the number of the receiving parts 212 and the number of 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 .

[0051] In other embodiments, the number of the accommodating parts 212 is greater than or equal to the number of the soft muscle modules 22. Figure 7 When using the octapod structure soft robot 200 shown in the figure, the staff can also only use 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.

[0052] Specifically, a connection hole (not shown in the figure) is provided in the connection piece 211 of the mold 21, wherein the connection hole is used to accommodate a plurality of memory alloy wires of the soft muscle module 22, that is, Figure 4 The purpose of setting a circular or other shaped opening in the center of the mold 21 in the present application is to facilitate the wiring of the memory alloy wire or circuit line to form a common negative electrode, which can effectively utilize the space of the soft robot 200 and reduce the overall weight of the soft robot 200.

[0053] 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 wires according to the driving parameters of each soft muscle module 22, thereby achieving the effect of independently driving each soft muscle module 22.

[0054] Furthermore, the soft robot 200 of the present application also includes a plurality of soft leg structures 23, one of which can be found in Figure 8The 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 .

[0055] 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.

[0056] A soft robot 200 generally includes a plurality of soft muscle module arrays. The speeds generated by the independent driving of the plurality of soft muscle module arrays are synthesized into the combined speeds in different directions, so that the soft robot 200 can achieve the advantage of movement in different directions and even steering. In addition, since the single movement of each soft muscle module array can be replaced by the combined movement 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, it can reduce the number of soft muscle module arrays driven individually and reduce the power consumption of the soft robot 200. On the other hand, after 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.

[0057] The schematic diagram of the principle of controlling the gait and state of the soft robot 200 by multiple independent soft mechanism module arrays can be found in Fig. 9 .like Fig. 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 contracts to produce deformation, and the soft robot 200 slowly 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.

[0058] 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:

[0059]

[0060]

[0061] 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.

[0062] Please continue reading Fig.10 In the present application, through speed synthesis, the soft robot 200 can obtain a combined speed in any direction by changing the speed in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, thereby achieving movement in any direction.

[0063] The soft muscle modules of the individual machine 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.

[0064] The above descriptions are merely embodiments of the present application and are not intended to 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 multimodal soft robot composed of bionic muscle modules, characterized in that: The soft robot comprises: A base body is provided with a double-layer structure of a scaffolding frame; The memory alloy wire is embedded in the double-layer structure of the scaffolding frame and is used to provide kinetic energy. The wire is controlled to heat up and deform by controlling the current parameters, thereby driving the matrix to deform. A plurality of soft muscle modules are connected to the double-layer structure of the scaffolding frame, the plurality of soft muscle modules extend in different directions of the circumference, and each soft muscle module is driven by a separate memory alloy wire; The base is composed of a plurality of bottom plates and a plurality of top plates, and the two layers of plates form a scaffolding structure; wherein the plurality of bottom plates are arranged in a first direction, and the plurality of top plates are stacked on the plurality of bottom plates in a second direction, and the gaps between the plurality of top plates form a plurality of grooves, and the first layer and the second layer have orthogonal textures to each other; The memory alloy wire is isolated in the plurality of grooves through polydimethylsiloxane encapsulation, thereby forming a plurality of independently driven soft muscle modules.

2. The multimodal soft robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of the soft muscle modules is greater than or equal to 2.

3. The multimodal soft robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The number of the soft muscle modules is greater than or equal to 3, and the soft muscle modules are distributed at equal angles in at least three different directions.

4. The multimodal soft robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The soft robot also includes a plurality of soft leg structures, each of which is fixed to one end of the soft muscle module away from the center of the base through an adhesive, and the soft leg structure is arranged on the side of the soft muscle module facing the memory alloy wire.

5. The multimodal soft robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: The soft leg structure is made of an elastic body made of PVC material.

6. The multimodal soft robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The matrix is ​​made of a terpolymer consisting of three monomers: acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene.

7. The multimodal soft robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: A connecting hole is provided at the center of the base, and the connecting hole is used to accommodate the memory alloy wire connecting the plurality of soft muscle modules.

8. The multimodal soft robot according to claim 7, characterized in that: The soft robot also includes a driving structure, which is connected to the memory alloy wire passing through the connecting hole. The driving structure is used to transmit current to the memory alloy wires of the several soft muscle modules according to different driving parameters, thereby independently driving each soft muscle module.

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