Evaluation of regular planar meshes for Modular Active Cell Robots (MACROs)

In this paper we investigate a series of candidate regular planar mesh geometries in terms of their suitability for utilization as mesh primitives for constructing compliant robotic structures. In prior work, we established a framework of compliant, articulate robotic meshes, termed Modular Active C...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nawroj, Ahsan I., Dollar, Aaron M.
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Cellular and Modular Robots
Computer architecture
Hardware
Microprocessors
Networked Robots
Robots
Shape
Simulation and Animation
Strain
Topology
Online Access:Request full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In this paper we investigate a series of candidate regular planar mesh geometries in terms of their suitability for utilization as mesh primitives for constructing compliant robotic structures. In prior work, we established a framework of compliant, articulate robotic meshes, termed Modular Active Cell Robots (MACROs), created from contractile Shape Memory Alloy linear-actuators (Active Cells). In this paper, we examine how to utilize these MACROs and other mesh-like robots in large regular or semi-regular topologies. We evaluate axial strains and stiffness characteristics for a range of MACRO meshes created using different mesh-primitives, which are drawn from known regular space-filling lattice geometries. We then describe the implications of these results on the design of MACRO structures, including the tradeoffs between different primitives for various structural performance properties.
ISSN:2153-0866
DOI:10.1109/IROS.2017.8206549