Название: The Science of Soft Robots: Design, Materials and Information Processing
Автор: Koichi Suzumori, Kenjiro Fukuda, Ryuma Niiyama, Kohei Nakajima
Издательство: Springer
Год: 2023
Страниц: 411
Язык: английский
Формат: pdf (true)
Размер: 15.8 MB

The goal of this textbook is to equip readers with as structured knowledge of soft robotics as possible. Seeking to overcome the limitations of conventional robots by making them more flexible, gentle and adaptable, soft robotics has become one of the most active fields over the last decade. Soft robotics is also highly interdisciplinary, bringing together robotics, Computer Science, material science, biology, etc.

After the introduction, the content is divided into three parts: Design of Soft Robots; Soft Materials; and Autonomous Soft Robots. Part I addresses soft mechanisms, biological mechanisms, and soft manipulation & locomotion. In Part II, the basics of polymer, biological materials, flexible & stretchable sensors, and soft actuators are discussed from a materials science standpoint. In turn, Part III focuses on modeling & control of continuum bodies, material intelligence, and information processing using soft body dynamics. In addition, the latest research results and cutting-edge research are highlighted throughout the book.

Previously, developments in robotics research focused on two main motivations. The first one is pursuing the value of robots as automated machines to perform tasks efficiently, mainly for industrial applications. The second one is the desire, stemming from intellectual curiosity, to create an artificial being that can move and behave the same as humans or animals. The latter has also led to creating care or welfare robots that support people daily.

Industrial robots have mainly been developed based on the first motivation; hence, their main goals are power, accuracy, reliability, and efficiency. Robots usually have rigid bodies made from hard materials, precise and powerful servomotors, and minutely coded control programs to achieve the abovementioned goals. Thus, these robots have produced significant results in industrial applications.

Meanwhile, considering the second motivation, robotics faces the difficulty that robots still struggle with everyday behaviors that living creatures perform easily. For example, gently cradling a baby is easy for a human but is significantly difficult for existing robots for the following reasons. First, it is difficult for a robot to gently touch a baby’s body using its arms and torso and hold it with the appropriate amount of grip force. Second, robots usually have hard and cold skin, which is unpleasant for a baby. Third, babies may move in unexpected ways; if a baby suddenly starts crying and tries to wriggle out of the robot’s arms, the existing robot would be unable to respond appropriately and might forcibly hold the baby to stop it from escaping.

Conventional industrial robots demonstrate excellent performance in environments for which they are designed but are not sufficiently adaptable to work in unknown or changing environments where unexpected situations can arise. In the future, robots will be required to respond flexibly to unpredictable environments and possess characteristics such as precise positioning and high output.

This is where soft robots are introduced. The concept of “soft” includes not only a soft body in a physical sense but also soft movement and the ability to respond flexibly to any situation. To date, most discussions on the definition of soft robots agree on the following points. (1) They have soft bodies composed of soft materials. (2) They have continuous or high degrees of freedom. (3) These physical characteristics are utilized to move and adapt to the environment in ways that are difficult for conventional robots. (4) The science of soft robots or soft robotics is generally considered a new academic field within robotics. It is widely agreed to be an interdisciplinary field that includes materials science and biology. Therefore, this book defines soft robots as “robots with soft and flexible bodies, which utilize these physical characteristics to adapt to the environment or objects.”

Written by a team of researchers from highly diverse fields, the work offers a valuable textbook or technical guide for all students, engineers and researchers who are interested in soft robotics.