Browsing by Subject "Flexible robots"
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Item Open Access Joint design and fabrication for multi-material soft/hybrid robots(IEEE, 2019-04) Aygül, Cern; Kwiczak-Yiğitbaşı, Joanna; Baytekin, Bilge; Özcan, OnurThe premises of safer interactions with surroundings and the higher adaptability to its environment make soft robotics a very interesting research field. Some robots try to achieve these feats using soft materials in their designs whereas some achieve behavioral softness through compliant use of hard materials. In this work, we present soft/hybrid robot leg designs that utilize elastomers as leg materials but hard DC motors as actuators. Two different leg designs that would convert the rotational motion of the DC motors to a foot trajectory are proposed. The different leg designs are kinematically identical; however, the hourglass design utilizes geometrical modifications to differentiate joint locations, whereas the composite design uses materials with different Young's Moduli without geometrical effects to create joints. In order to fabricate the composite design, a new method is developed involving 3D printed molds with removable joint pieces and a two-step molding process. Both of the legs are fabricated and simulations and experiments are run to compare their performances. Both mechanisms achieve a good foot trajectory, however the hourglass joint experiences higher mechanical stress during operation, which might lead to earlier failure especially under high loads. Such multi-material structures made out of elastomers can be utilized in miniature robots or mechanisms of similar size in which absolute joint locations are needed and continuum robotic limbs are not preferred.Item Open Access MiniCoRe: A miniature, foldable, collision resilient quadcopter(IEEE, 2020) Dilaveroğlu, Levent; Özcan, OnurCollision management strategies are an integral part of micro air vehicle (MAV) operation for flight sustainability. Among them, collision avoidance strategies require enhanced environmental and situational awareness for generating evasive maneuvers and collision-free trajectories. Simpler and more adaptable option is to prepare for collisions and design the physical system with predicted collision patterns in mind. In this work, a mechanically compliant quadcopter design using origami-inspired foldable robotics methods with protective shock absorbing elements has been proposed for a collision resilient quad-rotor MAV. 2D design of the foldable structure and the manufacturing process, including electronic hardware elements and software has been discussed. Our results show that in low speed collisions, the flight of the quadcopter is uninterrupted. The compliant quadcopter can continue flight after impact in near-hover conditions because of the reduction of impact forces due to the increased impact time.Item Open Access On the strain feedback control of a flexible robot arm(IEEE, 2011) Morgül, ÖmerWe consider a flexible robot arm modeled as a rigid hub which rotates in an inertial space; a light flexible link is clamped to the rigid body at one end and is free at the other. We assume that the flexible link performs only planar motion. We assume that the strain of the flexible link at the clamped end is measurable. We show that suitable control torques applied to the rigid hub stabilizes the system and achieves orientation under certain conditions. The proposed torque contains derivative, proportional and integral terms of the strain. The stability proofs depend on the passivity of the controller transfer function.