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Analysis on nonlinear turning motion of multi-spherical soft robots

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Abstract

A modular multi-spherical soft robot, which consists of five deformable spherical cells, two friction feet, the electromagnetic valves and the control systems, is constructed. According to the deflating action and the inflating action of the spherical cells, the size and the shape of each spherical cell can be changed. With two friction feet sticking with the ground in turn, the soft robot can move forwards, make a turning motion and avoid the obstacle. This paper creates a nonlinear relation between the pressure P and the inflation radius \(\left( r \right) \) at different original radii \(\left( {r_0 } \right) \) and obtains the inflation or deflation velocity \(v_r \). Six inflating and deflating steps to finish the turning motion are presented. Based on the geometric relationship between the inflation radius (r) and the original radius \((r_0 )\) of each cell, the nonlinear turning process is described to control the center positions (x, y, z) of the spherical cell. Last, a simulation and an experiment of five spherical cells are shown to emulate the turning process. Experiment results show that the robot has a maximum turning capability of \(20{^{\circ }}\) in one period.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51475300) and Open Foundation of First Level Zhejiang Key in Key Discipline of Control Science and Engineering.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute of Robotics, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Dongchuan Road 800, Shanghai, 200240, People’s Republic of China

    Yanqiong Fei & Wu Pang

  2. School of Automation, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou Shi, China

    Yanqiong Fei

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  1. Yanqiong Fei
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  2. Wu Pang
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Correspondence to Yanqiong Fei.

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Fei, Y., Pang, W. Analysis on nonlinear turning motion of multi-spherical soft robots. Nonlinear Dyn 88, 883–892 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11071-016-3282-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11071-016-3282-3

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