TY - GEN
T1 - Dynamic Modeling of a Hydrogel-based Continuum Robotic Arm with Experimental Validation
AU - Doroudchi, Azadeh
AU - Khodambashiy, Roozbeh
AU - Lafmejaniy, Amir Salimi
AU - Aukes, Daniel M.
AU - Berman, Spring
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by Office of Naval Research (ONR) Award N00014-17-1-2117.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 IEEE.
PY - 2020/5
Y1 - 2020/5
N2 - Control of robots with soft actuators is still challenging due to the complexity of modeling actuator material dynamics in conjunction with the robot dynamics. In this paper, we introduce a 45-mm-long soft continuum robot with distributed local actuators in the form of cubes composed of a novel temperature-responsive hydrogel, each with an embedded Joule heater. We refer to these as soft voxel actuators (SVAs). We present a dynamical model of this hydrogel-based continuum robot based on Cosserat rod theory. We experimentally identify the relationship between step input voltages applied to the SVAs and their resulting force outputs. In addition, we identify other unknown parameters of the model using vibration tests with the robot. We then numerically solve the Cosserat model and compare simulations of the model to measurements of the robot's tip displacement over time during open-loop control trials in which subsets of the SVAs are actuated. The normalized root-mean-square errors (NRMSEs) between the simulated and experimentally measured displacements are below 10%, which demonstrates the accuracy of the Cosserat model in describing the dynamics of the hydrogel-based continuum robot.
AB - Control of robots with soft actuators is still challenging due to the complexity of modeling actuator material dynamics in conjunction with the robot dynamics. In this paper, we introduce a 45-mm-long soft continuum robot with distributed local actuators in the form of cubes composed of a novel temperature-responsive hydrogel, each with an embedded Joule heater. We refer to these as soft voxel actuators (SVAs). We present a dynamical model of this hydrogel-based continuum robot based on Cosserat rod theory. We experimentally identify the relationship between step input voltages applied to the SVAs and their resulting force outputs. In addition, we identify other unknown parameters of the model using vibration tests with the robot. We then numerically solve the Cosserat model and compare simulations of the model to measurements of the robot's tip displacement over time during open-loop control trials in which subsets of the SVAs are actuated. The normalized root-mean-square errors (NRMSEs) between the simulated and experimentally measured displacements are below 10%, which demonstrates the accuracy of the Cosserat model in describing the dynamics of the hydrogel-based continuum robot.
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U2 - 10.1109/RoboSoft48309.2020.9116012
DO - 10.1109/RoboSoft48309.2020.9116012
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85088140227
T3 - 2020 3rd IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics, RoboSoft 2020
SP - 695
EP - 701
BT - 2020 3rd IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics, RoboSoft 2020
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - 3rd IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics, RoboSoft 2020
Y2 - 15 May 2020 through 15 July 2020
ER -