Soft Robotic Actuators Using Gas-Generating Pressurizing Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current robotic systems face limitations in mobility and versatility, particularly in constrained environments, due to their rigid structures and limited material selection, which hinders their ability to mimic the stable and efficient movement of soft-bodied organisms like Echinoderms and Cnidarians.
Innovation Solution
The development of untethered soft robotic devices that utilize pressurized gas sources, including electrolyzers and microcompressors, and explosive actuation mechanisms, such as combustion of combustible fluids, to enable flexible and efficient movement, allowing for complex motions and directional jumping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If rigid structures and traditional actuation methods are used, then structural strength and stability are improved, but mobility and versatility in constrained environments deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs soft robotic actuators with flexible polymer bodies instead of rigid structures. The actuators use extensible polymer materials that can deform and adapt to constrained environments, enabling stable motility in spaces where traditional rigid robots would fail. This directly addresses the contradiction by replacing rigid structures with flexible ones that maintain sufficient strength while dramatically improving adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes pneumatic actuation systems with bellows and pressure vessels to provide controlled movement in soft robotic actuators. This pneumatic approach enables versatile motion control while maintaining structural integrity through pressure-based actuation, resolving the contradiction between strength and mobility in constrained environments.
2Adaptability or versatility
If soft materials and new actuation mechanisms are used, then adaptability and mobility in constrained environments are improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the soft robotic system into modular components including separate pressure vessels, bellows actuators, and control systems. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and simplifies manufacturing and assembly, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining high adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex electromechanical actuation systems with pneumatic actuation using bellows and pressure vessels. This substitution simplifies the control mechanism while maintaining soft robotic functionality, reducing device complexity without compromising mobility in constrained environments.
3Manufacturing precision
If traditional hard-bodied robot designs are used, then manufacturing precision and structural integrity are improved, but weight and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses thin-walled pressure vessels and bellows made from extensible polymer materials that provide sufficient structural integrity while minimizing weight. These flexible shells maintain the necessary strength for actuation without the excessive weight of traditional metal components, directly addressing the weight-integrity tradeoff.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite polymer structures combining extensible and inextensible materials to achieve optimal strength-to-weight ratios. This composite approach provides necessary structural integrity for actuation while keeping the overall weight low, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing precision/integrity and weight.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
These devices achieve stable and efficient movement in constrained spaces, with the ability to jump and navigate complex terrain, while being lighter and more cost-effective than traditional hard-bodied robots, leveraging the properties of soft materials and gas generation principles for actuation.
Implementation Method 1
the untethered pressurizing device comprises an electrolytic cell and the reagents are selected to provide a gas product during electrolysis
Implementation Method 2
wherein the untethered pressurizing device comprises a gas-producing reagent selected to provide a gas in a thermal decomposition reaction
Implementation Method 3
the resistive wire is configured to receive electric current
Implementation Method 4
providing a pressurized fluid from the untethered pressurizing device to the fluid chamber in the flexible body
Implementation Method 5
igniting the combustible fluids to produce a rapidly expanding gas
Data Source
Figure 1A~1C
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Systems and methods for providing a soft robot is provided. In one system, a robotic device includes a flexible body having a fluid chamber, where a portion of the flexible body includes an elastically extensible material and a portion of the flexible body is strain limiting relative to the elastically extensible material. The robotic device can further include a pressurizing inlet in fluid communication with the fluid chamber, and a pressurizing device in fluid communication with the pressurizing inlet, the pressurizing device including a reaction chamber configured to accommodate a gas-producing chemical reaction for providing pressurized gas to the pressurizing inlet.