Robot Body Research Articles

Study of Telerobot Personalization for Children: Exploring Qualitative Coding of Artwork.

Social telepresence robots (i.e., telerobots) are used for social and learning experiences by children. However, most (if not all) commercially available telerobot bodies were designed for adults in corporate or healthcare settings. Due to an adult-focused market, telerobot design has typically not considered important factors such as age and physical aspect in the design of robot bodies. To better understand how peer interactants can facilitate the identities of remote children through personalization of robot bodies, we conducted an exploratory study to evaluate collaborative robot personalization. In this study, child participants (N=28) attended an interactive lesson on robots in our society. After the lesson, participants interacted with two telerobots for personalization activities and a robot fashion show. Finally, participants completed an artwork activity on robot design. Initial findings from this study will inform our continued work on telepresence robots for virtual inclusion and improved educational experiences of remote children and their peers.

Inter- and intrafraction dose variations in robotic stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for perihilar cholangiocarcinoma in the prospective phase I STRONG trial.

Using fiducial-marker-based robotic respiratory tumor tracking, we treated perihilar cholangiocarcinoma patients in the STRONG trial with 15 daily fractions of 4 Gy. For each of the included patients, in-room diagnostic-quality repeat CTs (rCT) were acquired pre- and post-dose delivery in 6 treatment fractions to analyze inter- and intrafraction dose variations. Planning CTs (pCTs) and rCTs were acquired in expiration breath-hold. Analogous to treatment, spine and fiducials were used to register rCTs with pCTs. In each rCT, all OARs were contoured, and the target was rigidly copied from the pCT based on grey values. The rCTs acquired were used to calculate the doses to be delivered through the treatment-unit settings. On average, target doses in rCTs and pCTs were similar. However, due to target displacements relative to the fiducials in rCTs, 10% of the rCTs showed PTV coverage losses of >10%. Although target coverages had been planned below desired values in order to protect OARs, many pre-rCTs contained OAR constraint violations: 44.4% for the 6 major constraints. Most OAR dose differences between pre- and post-rCTs were not statistically significant. The dose deviations observed in repeat CTs represent opportunities for more advanced adaptive approaches to enhancing SBRT treatment quality.

The Making of Gendered Bodies in Human-Robot Interactions

With a growing curiosity in anthropomorphic robots, academics and interested parties have started to examine the ethical implications and social impacts of their (mis)use. Gender in anthropomorphic robots is a field that is slowly beginning to receive attention. Yet, its ambiguity has led to treating gender in anthropomorphic robots in a reductionist fashion, pointing to how stereotypical characteristics make certain gender identities and practices legible. I illustrate that the making of gendered bodies goes beyond the oversimplification of stereotypical readable gender cues. Thus, relational and corporeal ways of connecting people and technological artifacts can help to (de)construct the practices of gendering the human body and the body of anthropomorphic robots. This entails ‘alive genders’. By ‘alive genders’ I am referring to an approach which keeps understandings of gender destabilized and evolving. This not only brings awareness to the interdependence of the human body and the body of anthropomorphic robots but helps designers and roboticists to study the gendering of robots as a part of social practices.

FIRE FIGHTING ROBOT

— The Project is designed to develop a Low-Cost firefighting Robot using Bluetooth technology for remote operation. Bluetooth HC-05 module is used for this purpose. The robotic vehicle is loaded with water tanker and a pump which is controlled over wireless communication to sprinkle water. At the transmitting end using push Bluetooth app, commands are sent to the receiver to control the movement of the robot either to move forward, backward and left or right etc. At the receiving end four motors are interfaced to the micro controller where two of them are used for the movement of the vehicle. A water tank along with water pump is mounted on the robot body. The whole operation is controlled by an ATMEGA328 series micro-controller. A motor driver IC, L293D is interfaced to the microcontroller through which the controller drives the motors. We are using ESP32 MCU and camera module to process the real time video transmission. The transmitted video can we streaming on IP network.

Mechanism design for walking typed solar panel-cleaning robot using triple driving lines

<span lang="EN-US">In this study, we propose a walking-type solar power cleaning robot mechanism driven by a driving unit composed of three driving lines. The triple driving lines are driven using a link mechanism, and vacuum pads are attached to each driving line to move the robot body through a sequence operation between the three lines. Through this mechanism, the robot body can be moved horizontally with the panel without folding the pad, and the amount of vertical movement is minimized during movement. By analyzing the pressure patterns of the pads on the driving line, smooth and fast movement was possible.</span>

Dynamic analysis of symmetric oscillation and turning characteristics of a flexible fin underwater robot propelled by double fins

In this study, the dynamics of the symmetric oscillation and turning characteristics of a flexible fin underwater robot propelled by two fins were studied. First, a three-dimensional model of a robot was established using three-dimensional software. Then, a fluid simulation experiment was conducted and a dynamic model of a flexible fin was established. The deformation of the flexible fin during symmetric undulations was studied. A motion equation for the wave track of the outer edge of the fin surface was also established. This motion equation was simulated and verified. Finally, an experimental prototype was fabricated to verify the simulation results. The results show that if the robot fish oscillates symmetrically using bilateral flexible pectoral fins, it can remain suspended, float vertically, or dive in the water. Its average turning speed can reach 0.8 rad/s, its straight running speed is 0.5 m/s, and its vertical ascending and descending speed is 0.1 m/s. Because a turn made by the robot fish is only driven by its pectoral fins, its turning radius is 0. The results show that the flexible fin underwater robot provides more abundant turning methods, better maneuverability, and higher turning efficiency. This research into the motion of the robot body for different wave parameters when the two fins move together provides a theoretical basis for the cooperative motion of two fins.

Trajectory Tracking via Backstepping Controller with PID or SMC for Mobile Robots

Mobile robot concept is one of the most commonly used nonholonomic system for industrial and academic autonomous applications. There are many types of mobile robot design concepts and control strategies which have been continuously developed by researchers. In this study, two wheeled differential drive mobile robot (DDMR) is used for trajectory tracking study under different conditions. Reference trajectory, dynamic and kinematic motion models of DDMR are defined as mathematical expressions in computer software. For tracking the reference trajectory, error between current pose and reference pose was decreased by sliding mode controller (SMC) and proportional–integral–derivative controller (PID) with kinematic based backstepping controller (KBBC) respectively. A reference path which consists of sinusoidal and linear parts tracked by both controller combinations in first simulation to examine controller tracking performances. In order to examine and compare; responsiveness, stability and robustness of the controllers, an additional mass which affects motion dynamics of DDMR vertically added to the mobile robot body during trajectory tracking application. All results and discussions are comparatively stated at the end of the study with related error figures and evaluations.

Early career scientists converse on the future of soft robotics.

During the recent decade, we have witnessed an extraordinary flourishing of soft robotics. Rekindled interest in soft robots is partially associated with the advances in manufacturing techniques that enable the fabrication of sophisticated multi-material robotic bodies with dimensions ranging across multiple length scales. In recent manuscripts, a reader might find peculiar-looking soft robots capable of grasping, walking, or swimming. However, the growth in publication numbers does not always reflect the real progress in the field since many manuscripts employ very similar ideas and just tweak soft body geometries. Therefore, we unreservedly agree with the sentiment that future research must move beyond "soft for soft's sake." Soft robotics is an undoubtedly fascinating field, but it requires a critical assessment of the limitations and challenges, enabling us to spotlight the areas and directions where soft robots will have the best leverage over their traditional counterparts. In this perspective paper, we discuss the current state of robotic research related to such important aspects as energy autonomy, electronic-free logic, and sustainability. The goal is to critically look at perspectives of soft robotics from two opposite points of view provided by early career researchers and highlight the most promising future direction, that is, in our opinion, the employment of soft robotic technologies for soft bio-inspired artificial organs.

Control Algorithm and Realization of Adaptive Two-Wheeled Robot

This system selects STC12C5A60S2 single chip microcomputer as the core processor to control the algorithm and balance state of the balance robot. The robot body is loaded with a gyroscope accelerometer sensor mpu6050 and a magnetoelectric encoder motor 330. The single chip microcomputer filters the data collected by the gyroscope and accelerometer, and processes the upper limit of the integral of the motor output value. Through the conditioning circuit, the sensor collects the horizontal offset angle of the robot body and the wheel rotation speed, and corrects the signal noise and zero offset, so as to complete the attitude monitoring. Using proportional integral differential algorithm, the positive feedback of speed loop and the negative feedback of angle loop are adjusted comprehensively to realize the robot body attitude correction. After debugging, the trolley can achieve self-regulation and balance without the severe impact of the external environment.

Inverted Modelling: An Effective Way to Support Motion Planning of Legged Mobile Robots

This paper presents an effective way to support motion planning of legged mobile robots—Inverted Modelling, based on the equivalent metamorphic mechanism concept. The difference from the previous research is that we herein invert the equivalent parallel mechanism. Assuming the leg mechanisms are hybrid links, the body of robot being considered as fixed platform, and ground as moving platform. The motion performance is transformed and measured in the body frame. Terrain and joint limits are used as input parameters to the model, resulting in the representation which is independent of terrains and particular poses in Inverted Modelling. Hence, it can universally be applied to any kind of legged robots as global motion performance framework. Several performance measurements using Inverted Modelling are presented and used in motion performance evaluation. According to the requirements of actual work like motion continuity and stability, motion planning of legged robot can be achieved using different measurements on different terrains. Two cases studies present the simulations of quadruped and hexapod robots walking on rugged roads. The results verify the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Curvature-based force estimation for an elastic tube

AbstractContact force is one of the most significant feedback for robots to achieve accurate control and safe interaction with environment. For continuum robots, it is possible to estimate the contact force based on the feedback of robot shapes, which can address the difficulty of mounting dedicated force sensors on the continuum robot body with strict dimension constraints. In this paper, we use local curvatures to estimate the magnitude and location of single or multiple contact forces based on Cosserat rod theory. We validate the proposed method in a thin elastic tube and calculate the curvatures via Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors or image feedback. For the curvature feedback obtained from multicore FBG sensors, the overall force magnitude estimation error is$0.062 \pm 0.068$N and the overall location estimation error is$3.51 \pm 2.60$mm. For the curvature feedback obtained from image, the overall force magnitude estimation error is$0.049 \pm 0.048$N and the overall location estimation error is$2.75 \pm 1.71$mm. The results demonstrate that the curvature-based force estimation method is able to accurately estimate the contact force.

Robotic stereotactic body radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer: final analysis of the German HYPOSTAT trial

PurposeWe report results of the first German prospective multicenter single-arm phase II trial (ARO 2013-06; NCT02635256) of hypofractionated robotic stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for patients with localized prostate cancer (HYPOSTAT).MethodsPatients eligible for the HYPOSTAT study had localized prostate cancer (cT1‑3 cN0 cM0), Gleason score ≤ 7, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) ≤ 15 ng/ml, prostate volume ≤ 80 cm3, and an International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) ≤ 12. Initially, inclusion was limited to patients ≥ 75 years or patients 70–74 years with additional risk factors. The trial protocol was later amended to allow for enrolment of patients aged ≥ 60 years. The treatment consisted of 35 Gy delivered in 5 fractions to the prostate and for intermediate- or high-risk patients, also to the proximal seminal vesicles using the CyberKnife system (Accuray Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, USA). Primary endpoint was the rate of treatment-related gastrointestinal or genitourinary grade ≥ 2 toxicity based on the RTOG scale 12–15 months after treatment. Secondary endpoints were acute toxicity, late toxicity, urinary function, quality of life, and PSA response.ResultsFrom July 2016 through December 2018, 85 eligible patients were enrolled and received treatment, of whom 83 could be evaluated regarding the primary endpoint. Patients mostly had intermediate-risk disease with a median PSA value of 7.97 ng/ml and Gleason score of 7a and 7b in 43.5% and 25.9% of patients, respectively. At the final follow-up 12–15 months after treatment, no patient suffered from treatment-related gastrointestinal or genitourinary grade ≥ 2 toxicity. Acute toxicity was mostly mild, with three grade 3 events, and the cumulative rate of grade ≥ 2 genitourinary toxicity was 8.4% (95% CI 4.1–16.4%). There were no major changes in urinary function or quality of life. The median PSA value dropped to 1.18 ng/ml 12–15 months after treatment. There was one patient who developed distant metastases.ConclusionRobotic SBRT with 35 Gy in 5 fractions was associated with a favorable short-term toxicity profile. Recruitment for the HYPOSTAT‑2 trial (ARO-2018‑4; NCT03795337), which further analyses the late toxicity of this regimen with a planned sample size of 500 patients, is ongoing.

On the Control of Traction Characteristics and Resistance to Movement of Mobile Robots with Walking Propulsion Devices

The problem of increasing the traction and dynamic properties of mobile robots with walking propulsion devices is considered. The interdependence of the traction forces developed by the propulsion devices and the forces of resistance to the movement of robots, due to their interaction with the environment, is analyzed. A mathematical model is proposed based on the quasi-static nature of the robot’s movement and taking into account the static uncertainty of the problem. Static indeterminacy is due to the presence of propulsion devices on each of the sides and interacting with the supporting surface in the amount of more than two. A feature of the solution is also taking into account the gait and schedule of the robot’s movement, which characterize the time sequence of the propulsion devices being in the phase of interaction with the supporting surface and in the phase of transfer to a new position. The gait is also characterized by the mode coefficient, which is the ratio of the time the propulsion device is in the stance phase to the total time of the cycle of its movement. An optimality criterion is introduced on the basis of which the design perfection of the propulsion devices and the place of their installation on the robot is evaluated. The optimality criterion consists of two indicators: the value of the maximum traction force and the average force of resistance to movement. The tractive force is assumed to be proportional to the sum of the maximum normal loads acting on each propulsion device unit, and the resistance force to the squares of the same loads. Simulation modeling has been carried out, proving the dependence of the magnitude of traction properties and the forces of resistance to movement on the location of the propulsion devices. Two systems of vertical arrangement of the points of suspension of propulsion devices were compared. It has been established that a sufficiently small change in the vertical coordinate of the suspension point of even one propulsion devices has a noticeable change in the maximum traction forces and movement resistance forces. It is concluded that by adjusting the vertical position of the propulsion devices foot relative to the robot body, it is possible to control the traction properties and movement resistance, as well as the importance of the positioning accuracy of the foot of the propulsion devices walking mechanism during movement.

Liposome Deformation Induced by Membrane-Binding Peptides.

This paper presents an investigation of liposome deformation and shape distortion using four membrane-binding peptides: TAT and C105Y as cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), and melittin and ovispirin as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Liposome deformation was monitored utilizing fluorescent microscopy, while the binding of peptides to the DOPC membrane was estimated through capacitance measurements. The degree of liposome deformation and shape distortion was found to be higher for the CPPs compared to the AMPs. Additionally, it was observed that C105Y did not induce liposome rupture, unlike the other three peptides. We propose that these variations in liposome distortion may be attributed to differences in secondary structure, specifically the presence of an α-helix or random coil. Our studies offer insight into the use of peptides to elicit control of liposome architecture and may offer a promising approach for regulating the bodies of liposomal molecular robots.

Proactive Body Joint Adaptation for Energy-Efficient Locomotion of Bio-Inspired Multi-Segmented Robots

Typically, control strategies for legged robots have been developed to adapt their leg movements to deal with complex terrain. When the legs are extended in search of ground contact to support the robot body, this can result in the center of gravity (CoG) being raised higher from the ground and can lead to unstable locomotion if it deviates from the support polygon. An alternative approach is body adaptation, inspired by millipede/centipede locomotion behavior, which can result in low ground clearance and stable locomotion. In this study, we propose novel proactive neural control with online unsupervised learning, allowing multi-segmented, legged robots to proactively adapt their body to follow the surface contour and maintain efficient ground contact. Our approach requires neither kinematics nor environmental models. It relies solely on proprioceptive sensory feedback and short-term memory, enabling the robots to deal with complex 3D terrains. In comparison to traditional reflex-based control, our approach results in smoother and more energy-efficient robot locomotion on terrains with concave and convex curves or slopes of varying degrees in both simulation and real-world implementation.

Directionally Compliant Legs Enabling Crevasse Traversal in Small Ground‐Based Robots

Small ground‐based robots show promise for locomotion on complex surfaces. A critical application area for such robots is movement over complex terrain and within constricted space such as narrow gaps in rubble. To contend with this terrain complexity, robots typically require high degree‐of‐freedom (DOF) limbs. However, for small robot platforms, this approach of high DOF legs is impractical due to actuator limitations. This presents an opportunity to design robots whose morphology enables the outsourcing of computational tasks to the robot body through the use of compliant elements (morphological computation). Herein, a novel robot appendage is developed that can passively compress in a programmed direction in response to environmental constrictions. A robot equipped with these appendages can enter narrow spaces down to 72% of the robot's sprawled body width as well as low ceilings down to 68% its freestanding height. The robot is able to step onto and over small terrain features ( hip height) and navigate various natural terrain types with ease. The results show that these compressible appendages enable versatile robot locomotion for robot exploration in previously unmapped environments.

A Modeling and Calibration Method of Heavy-Duty Automated Fiber Placement Robot Considering Compliance and Joint-Dependent Errors

Abstract The accuracy of industrial robots is critical in many manufacturing applications. In this case, a self-developed automated fiber placement heavy-duty robot is used for the lay-up of carbon fiber composite prepregs, which requires high positioning accuracy. The mass of the robot body and end-effector exceeds 3 tons and 1 ton, respectively, resulting in considerable deformation and other errors due to the huge size and mass. Paradoxically, the work that our robot engaged in requires high precision, and the positioning accuracy needs to be less than 0.5 mm. This paper conducts a comprehensive analysis of the robot joint error, so as to improve the accuracy of the robot. A torsional and capsize deformation model for joints is established. In addition, the capsize torque and capsize axis of joint deformation are derived to determine the transformation relationship between joint frames. Chebyshev polynomials are used to describe joint-dependent errors. The Levenberg–Marquarelt (L–M) algorithm was used to identify the error model parameters. The effects of different error factors on the positioning accuracy were compared and analyzed. The validation result shows that the proposed model describes 88.11% of the positioning error, and the average residual error of the calibration can reach 0.132 mm. The identified joint-dependent error and the compliance error are 0.296 mm and 0.240 mm, accounting for 26.67% and 21.62% of the positioning error, respectively.

The Control of an Aquatic Robot by a Periodic Rotation of the Internal Flywheel

This paper presents the design of an aquatic robot actuated by one internal rotor. The robot body has a cylindrical form with a base in the form of a symmetric airfoil with a sharp edge. For this object, equations of motion are presented in the form of Kirchhoff equations for rigid body motion in an ideal fluid, which are supplemented with viscous resistance terms. A prototype of the aquatic robot with an internal rotor is developed. Using this prototype, experimental investigations of motion in a fluid are carried out.

Research on a New Rehabilitation Robot for Balance Disorders.

The treatment of patients with balance disorders is an urgent problem to be solved by the medical community. The causes of balance disorders are diverse. An aging population, traffic accidents, stroke, genetic diseases and so on are all possible factors. It has brought great pain and inconvenience to patients and their families. At present, there are two main types of assisted rehabilitation training robots for patients with balance disorders: exoskeleton robots and end robots. The exoskeleton robot is generally installed on the outside of the patient's body to follow their movement, which can support the weight of the body and provide power support to help the patient train and recover lower limb ability. The use of end robots is usually to secure the patient's foot to the motion platform and control the pedal to drive the lower limbs to conduct gait training. Such passive training is more suitable for patients with severe disorders. The patient has low awareness of active participation. This paper focuses on research on end rehabilitation training robots for balance disorders. In this paper, a robotic system for rehabilitation training of patients with balance disorders is invented. The robot body is a 9 degree of freedom (DOF) redundant series-parallel hybrid motion platform. Two sets of motion platforms with symmetrical mirror images are used together to simulate different motion modes of the human body and drive the human body to move. Each set of motion platforms is composed of a 6-DOF vestibular parallel device and a 3-DOF proprioception parallel device. It has the advantages of DOF decoupling and fast response, proposing a new structural form for the design of proprioceptive and vestibular simulation platforms. The robot's functional level can be divided into a vestibular sense module and a proprioception module according to the structure. The two modules can work independently to achieve different functions or work together to achieve complex motion and multisensory fusion. This robot is a redundant mechanism device with 9 DOFs. Through a reasonable distribution of DOF and motion, the robot's working space can be increased, and the robot's flexibility and motion performance can be improved. In this paper, a trajectory tracking control algorithm for vestibular and proprioceptive simulation is proposed, which can provide unlimited body sense training for patients within the robot's limited motion range.

Mobilni robot za praćenje drveća parka - projektovanje i modeliranje

One of the modern problems in the field of ecology is the creation of environmentally friendly equipment for monitoring and maintaining trees in parks and forests. The traditional use of forest machines and self-propelled tractors with internal combustion engines has a negative impact on the environment as a result of pollutant emissions, i.e., combustion products and fuel residues. An alternative to this tradition can be the use of mobile robots with remote control of their electric drives when performing such technological operations as pruning bacterial growths of trees and diagnosing the state of tree massifs. The article proposes a fundamentally new mobile robot design for monitoring park trees. The main differences between the robot are the new designs of the body and the walking mechanisms of the mobile robot. These design differences provide the robot with high maneuverability when choosing the path of movement along the tree trunk and reliable holding of the robot body on the tree at a sufficient movement speed to perform diagnostics of the state of tree massifs. The article also describes the dynamic models of the movement of a mobile robot along a tree trunk. It presents the simulation results in the form of graph-analytical dependencies of the robot parameters, which constitutes the scientific aspect of the problem. The main motivation of the conducted research is the creation of environmentally friendly equipment in the form of a mobile robot with a reliable system of retention on the surface moving and sufficient performance to perform park tree monitoring operations.