Soft Fibrous Syringe Architecture for Electricity-Free and Motorless Control of Flexible Robotic Systems

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
File version

Version of Record (VoR)

Author(s)
Nguyen, Chi Cong
Hoang, Trung Thien
Davies, James
Phan, Phuoc Thien
Thai, Mai Thanh
Nicotra, Emanuele
Abed, Amr Al
Tran, Hien A
Truong, Thanh An
Sharma, Bibhu
Ji, Adrienne
Zhu, Kefan
Wang, Chun Hui
Phan, Hoang‐Phuong
Lovell, Nigel Hamilton
et al.
Griffith University Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Date
2024
Size
File type(s)
Location
Abstract

Flexible robotic systems (FRSs) and wearable user interfaces (WUIs) have been widely used in medical fields, offering lower infection risk and shorter recovery, and supporting amiable human–machine interactions (HMIs). Recently, soft electric, thermal, magnetic, and fluidic actuators with enhanced safety and compliance have innovatively boosted the use of FRSs and WUIs across many sectors. Among them, soft hydraulic actuators offer great speed, low noise, and high force density. However, they currently require bulky electric motors/pumps, pistons, valves, rigid accessories, and complex controllers, which inherently result in high cost, low adaptation, and complex setups. This paper introduces a novel soft fibrous syringe architecture (SFSA) consisting of two or more hydraulically connected soft artificial muscles that enable electricity-free actuation, motorless control, and built-in sensing ability for use in FRSs and WUIs. Its capabilities are experimentally demonstrated with various robotic applications including teleoperated flexible catheters, cable-driven continuum robotic arms, and WUIs. In addition, its sensing abilities to detect passive and active touch, surface texture, and object stiffness are also proven. These excellent results demonstrate a high feasibility of using a current-free and motor-less control approach for the FRSs and WUIs, enabling new methods of sensing and actuation across the robotic field.

Journal Title

Advanced Science

Conference Title
Book Title
Edition
Volume

11

Issue

39

Thesis Type
Degree Program
School
Publisher link
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement

© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Item Access Status
Note
Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject

Nanotechnology

Persistent link to this record
Citation

Nguyen, CC; Hoang, TT; Davies, J; Phan, PT; Thai, MT; Nicotra, E; Abed, AA; Tran, HA; Truong, TA; Sharma, B; Ji, A; Zhu, K; Wang, CH; Phan, H; Lovell, NH; Do, TN, Soft Fibrous Syringe Architecture for Electricity‐Free and Motorless Control of Flexible Robotic Systems, Advanced Science, 2024, 11 (39), pp. 2405610

Collections