CN114905495A

CN114905495A - Bionic inchworm software robot based on elastic drive

Info

Publication number: CN114905495A
Application number: CN202210239615.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吴一川; 吴楚锋; 曾志; 彭倍
Original assignee: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China; Qiantang Science and Technology Innovation Center
Current assignee: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China; Qiantang Science and Technology Innovation Center
Priority date: 2022-03-11
Filing date: 2022-03-11
Publication date: 2022-08-16
Anticipated expiration: 2042-03-11
Also published as: CN114905495B

Abstract

The invention discloses an elastic drive-based bionic inchworm software robot which comprises two groups of joint modules, a connecting module positioned between the two groups of joint modules and driving modules respectively arranged between the joint modules and the connecting module; the driving module comprises an SMA spring group and a return spring group positioned below the SMA spring group, the SMA spring group is connected with the return spring group in parallel, the SMA spring group is arranged between the joint modules and the connecting module, one end of the return spring group is arranged on one of the joint modules, and the other end of the return spring group penetrates through the connecting module and is connected to the other joint module; the bionic inchworm software robot adopts an L-shaped touchdown unit as a foot part of the software robot from the bionic angle, and adopts a driving module to simulate the body of the inchworm; the joint modules are combined with the driving modules, and the inchworm motion is simulated by coordinately controlling the sequence of each driving module and each joint module; low cost and good operation and control performance.

Description

Bionic inchworm software robot based on elastic drive

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of soft robots, in particular to an elastically-driven bionic inchworm soft robot.

Background

The application and invention in the robot field have been for hundreds of years, but most of the robots applied in the fields of production, construction and the like are rigid robots with high material rigidity. The existing rigid body robot has wide application and various functions, but still has the following disadvantages to overcome: cannot work continuously on complex terrain; the device cannot cope with variable environments; the receptor type can only move in a large space; it is difficult to simplify the control flow. The above disadvantages can be overcome by creating a soft robot simulating the movement principle of animals and plants.

The software robot can be widely applied from the existing research results. For example: structural inspection and repair in complex, difficult to disassemble machinery; performing terrain exploration in a narrow space; arbitrarily changing shape during production activities to reduce tool cost; concealment is enhanced in surveillance activities by virtue of small size and variable shape. However, the existing bionic soft robot has high manufacturing cost, poor moving performance, low possibility of moving forward and backward and poor using effect.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the technical problems, the invention provides an elastically-driven bionic inchworm soft robot.

The technical scheme for solving the technical problems is as follows: a bionic inchworm software robot based on spring drive comprises two groups of joint modules, a connecting module positioned between the two groups of joint modules and drive modules respectively arranged between the joint modules and the connecting module;

the driving module comprises an SMA spring group and a return spring group positioned below the SMA spring group, the SMA spring group is connected with the return spring group in parallel, the SMA spring group is arranged between the joint module and the connecting module, one end of the return spring group is arranged on one of the joint modules, and the other end of the return spring group penetrates through the connecting module and is connected to the other joint module.

Further, the joint module comprises a fixed plate, a grounding unit arranged at the lower end of the fixed plate and an upright post arranged on the fixed plate and facing the end face of the connecting module, wherein the SMA spring group is in interference fit with the upright post.

Furthermore, the grounding unit comprises a leg section arranged at the lower end of the fixing plate and a foot section arranged below the leg section, the leg section and the fixing plate are positioned in the same plane and are perpendicular to the ground, an included angle is formed between the leg section and the foot section, and an included angle is formed between the foot section and the ground.

Furthermore, the leg section and the foot section form a 135-degree included angle, and the foot section and the ground form a 45-degree included angle.

Further, the ground contacting unit has an L-shaped structure.

Further, the connection module includes the connecting plate, set up the circular port on the connecting plate and set up on the connecting plate and be located the plunger of circular port top, and the plunger is corresponding with the stand, and SMA spring group sets up between plunger and stand, and reset spring group runs through the circular port and sets up between the fixed plate of two joint modules.

Furthermore, the fixing plate is provided with a threaded hole for fixing the SMA spring, so that the SMA spring and the return spring set are always in a parallel state.

Further, the threaded hole is of an arc-shaped structure.

Further, the SMA spring set is made of a nickel-titanium alloy.

Furthermore, the return spring group is made of stainless steel.

The invention has the following beneficial effects: the bionic inchworm soft robot based on the spring drive is reliable in structure and good in service performance, the joint module of the soft robot based on the SMA spring and the stainless steel spring drive is a hard part and a hard structure, the drive module is made of soft materials, the whole flexibility is good, and the bionic inchworm soft robot has good environmental adaptability. In addition, the bionic inchworm soft robot adopts an L-shaped touchdown unit as a foot part of the soft robot and adopts a driving module to simulate the body of the inchworm from the bionic angle; the joint modules are combined with the driving modules, and the inchworm motion is simulated by coordinately controlling the motion sequence of each driving module and each joint module; low cost and good operation and control performance.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a front view of a bionic inchworm soft robot in the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a joint module and a connection module according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a first motion state of a bionic inchworm soft-bodied robot according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a second motion state of the bionic inchworm soft robot.

Detailed Description

The principles and features of this invention are described below in conjunction with the following drawings, which are set forth by way of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

As shown in figure 1, the bionic inchworm software robot based on spring driving comprises two groups of joint modules (including a joint module 1A and a joint module 1B), a connecting module 2 positioned between the two groups of joint modules, and a driving module 3 respectively arranged between the joint modules and the connecting module 2. The driving module 3 is used for driving the joint module and the connecting module 2 to perform bionic inchworm movement, and when the driving module 3 moves, the ground contact units 11 of the two joint modules generate friction in a specific direction; the bionic inchworm motion can be realized by coordinating and controlling the driving module 3 and the joint module.

The driving module 3 comprises an SMA spring group 30 and a return spring group 31 located below the SMA spring group 30, the SMA spring group 30 is connected with the return spring group 31 in parallel, the SMA spring group 30 is arranged between the joint module and the connecting module 2, one end of the return spring group 31 is arranged on the first joint module 1A, and the other end of the return spring group runs through the connecting module 2 and is connected to the second joint module 1B. The SMA spring group 30 is made of nickel-titanium alloy, the return spring group 31 is made of stainless steel, and other parts are made of photosensitive resin, so that the SMA spring group is not easy to deform and has high hardness. The SMA spring assembly 30 has a characteristic that it contracts at a high temperature and is easily stretched due to its reduced strength at a low temperature, and provides a driving force for the driving module 3 by current heating. When the SMA spring assembly 30 is powered on, the SMA spring assembly 30 contracts and deforms, the return spring assembly 31 is compressed to contract and bend the SMA spring assembly, and when the SMA spring assembly 30 is powered off, the return spring assembly 31 restores the original shape due to resilience force, and the SMA spring assembly 30 is stretched to restore the original shape.

As shown in fig. 2, the joint module includes a fixed plate 10, a ground contacting unit 11 disposed at a lower end of the fixed plate 10, and a pillar 12 disposed on the fixed plate 10 and facing an end surface of the connecting module 2, and the SMA spring set 30 is in interference fit with the pillar 12. The grounding unit 11 is in an L-shaped structure, the grounding unit 11 includes a leg segment 110 disposed at the lower end of the fixing plate 10 and a foot segment 111 disposed below the leg segment 110, the leg segment 110 and the fixing plate 10 are located in the same plane and perpendicular to the ground, an included angle is formed between the leg segment 110 and the foot segment 111, and an included angle is formed between the foot segment 111 and the ground. Leg segment 110 forms a 135 degree angle with foot segment 111 and foot segment 111 forms a 45 degree angle with the ground. The ground contact unit 11 is configured to provide frictional forces of different magnitudes in a specific direction to the front and rear end joint modules, so that the front end position is fixed when the front and rear end joint modules approach each other, the rear end position is close to the front end, and the front end position is far from the rear end when the front and rear end joint modules are far from each other.

When the SMA spring group 30 is energized, the SMA spring group 30 contracts, and the return spring group 31 is compressed to make the SMA spring group contract and bend, at this time, the two groups of joint modules approach each other, the leg joint 111 of the "L" -shaped ground contact unit 11 forms an angle of 45 ° with the ground, the leg joint 111 of the first joint module 1A at the front end forms an included angle of 135 ° with the advancing direction thereof, the leg joint 111 of the second joint module 1B at the rear end forms an included angle of 45 ° with the advancing direction thereof, the friction force borne by the leg joint 111 of the first joint module 1A at the front end is smaller than the friction force borne by the second joint module 1B at the rear end, at this time, the front and rear joint modules approach each other, the position of the first joint module 1A at the front end does not change, and the second joint module 1B at the rear end moves toward the first joint module 1A near the front end.

When the SMA spring assembly 30 is powered off, the reset spring restores the original shape due to the resilience force, stretches the SMA spring assembly 30 to restore the original shape, and the front joint module and the rear joint module are away from each other, the foot section 111 of the L-shaped grounding unit 11 forms an angle of 45 degrees with the ground, the foot section 111 of the first joint module 1A at the front end forms an included angle of 45 degrees with the advancing direction of the first joint module, the foot section 111 of the joint module 1B at the rear end forms an included angle of 135 degrees with the advancing direction of the second joint module, the friction force borne by the foot section 111 of the joint module 1A at the front end is greater than the friction force borne by the joint module 1B at the rear end, the front joint module and the rear joint module are away from each other, the position of the joint module 1A at the front end moves towards the direction of the joint module 1B away from the rear end, and the position of the joint module 1B at the rear end is unchanged. Therefore, the soft robot can realize forward and backward movement by coordinately controlling the driving module 3 and the joint module; the soft robot can imitate inchworm motion under a specific control mode.

The connecting module 2 comprises a connecting plate 20, a circular hole 21 formed in the connecting plate 20 and a plunger 22 arranged on the connecting plate 20 and located above the circular hole 21, the plunger 22 corresponds to the upright post 12, an SMA spring set 30 is arranged between the plunger 22 and the upright post 12, and a return spring set 31 penetrates through the circular hole 21 and is arranged between the fixing plates 10 of the two joint modules. The circular hole 21 is used for limiting the relative position of the SMA spring set 30 and the return spring set 31 in the working process and preventing the SMA spring set from rolling over.

The fixing plate 10 is provided with a threaded hole 13 for fixing the SMA spring, so that the SMA spring is always in a parallel state with the return spring set 31. The threaded hole 13 is of an arc-shaped structure, and the SMA spring group 30 penetrates through the threaded hole 13 and is fixed by glue.

The bionic inchworm soft robot is realized by coordinating and controlling the motion sequence of the driving module 3 and the joint module when the inchworm motion is simulated, as shown in the figure 3-4, the specific control sequence is as follows: 1. the return spring set 31 is driven to contract, as shown in fig. 3; 2. the return spring set 31 is driven to extend, as shown in fig. 4; these two steps are one control cycle that mimics the movements of inchworm.

The above description is only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention, and any modifications, equivalents, improvements and the like that fall within the spirit and principle of the present invention are intended to be included therein.

Claims

1. An inchworm-simulating soft robot based on elastic drive is characterized by comprising two groups of joint modules (1A and 1B), a connecting module (2) positioned between the two groups of joint modules (1A and 1B) and a driving module (3) respectively arranged between the joint modules (1A and 1B) and the connecting module (2);

the drive module (3) comprises an SMA elastic element (30) and a return spring set (31) located below the SMA spring set (30), the SMA spring set (30) and the return spring set (31) are connected in parallel, the SMA spring set (30) is arranged between the joint module (1) and the connecting module (2), one end of the return spring set (31) is arranged on the first joint module (1A), and the other end of the return spring set penetrates through the connecting module (2) and is connected to the second joint module (1B).

2. The bionic inchworm soft robot based on elastic drive as claimed in claim 1, wherein the joint modules (1A, 1B) comprise a fixed plate (10), a ground contact unit (11) arranged at the lower end of the fixed plate (10) and a column (12) arranged on the fixed plate (10) and facing the end face of the connection module (2), the SMA spring group (30) is in interference fit with the column (12).

3. The bionic inchworm-like soft robot based on elastic drive as claimed in claim 2, wherein the ground-contacting unit (11) comprises a leg section (110) arranged at the lower end of the fixed plate (10) and a foot section (111) arranged below the leg section (110), the leg section (110) and the fixed plate (10) are in the same plane and are perpendicular to the ground in the initial state, an included angle is formed between the leg section (110) and the foot section (111), and the foot section (111) forms an included angle with the ground.

4. The bionic inchworm software robot based on elastic drive of claim 3, characterized in that the leg segment (110) forms an angle of 135 degrees with the foot segment (111), and the foot segment (111) forms an angle of 45 degrees with the ground in an initial state.

5. The bionic inchworm soft robot based on elastic drive as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the ground contact unit (11) is L-shaped structure.

6. The bionic inchworm soft robot based on elastic drive as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connection module (2) comprises a connection plate (20), a circular hole (21) opened on the connection plate (20) and a plunger (22) arranged on the connection plate (20) and above the circular hole (21), the plunger (22) corresponds to a column (12), the SMA spring set (30) is arranged between the plunger (22) and the column (12), and the return spring set (31) penetrates through the circular hole (21) and is arranged between two joint modules (1A, 1B).

7. The bionic inchworm soft robot based on the elastic drive of claim 2, characterized in that a threaded hole (13) for fixing the SMA spring is arranged on the fixing plate (10), so that the SMA spring is always in parallel connection with the return spring set (31).

8. The bionic inchworm software robot based on elastic drive as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the threaded hole (13) is of an arc structure.

9. The bionic inchworm soft robot based on elastic drive of claim 1, wherein the SMA spring set (30) is made of nickel-titanium alloy.

10. The bionic inchworm soft robot based on elastic drive as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the return spring set (31) is made of stainless steel.