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Bio-Inspired Robotics II
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Bio-Inspired Robotics II

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Biosciences and Bioengineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2020) | Viewed by 38092

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Toshio Fukuda

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Guest Editor
1. Institute for Advanced Research, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
2. Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Meijo University, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture 468-0073, Japan
3. School of Mechatronical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China
Interests: intelligent robotic and mechatronic system; cellular robotic system; micro- and nano-robotic system
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Assoc. Prof. Qing Shi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Intelligent Robotics Institute, School of Mechatronical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: biomimetic robots; cognitive robots; robotic vision
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Fei Chen

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Guest Editor
Department of Advanced Robotics, Italian Institute of Technology. Via Morego 30, 16163 Genova, Italy
Interests: mobile and dexterous manipulation; collaborative robotics; robot learning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Wisnu Jatmiko

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Computer Science, University of Indonesia, Kampus UI Depok 16424, Indonesia
Interests: evolutionary robotics; swarm intelligence; distributed robotic systems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The evolution of robotics has enabled today’s robots to operate in a variety of unstructured and dynamically changing environments in addition to traditional structured environments. Robots have thus become an important element in our everyday life. One key approach to develop such intelligent and autonomous robots is to draw inspiration from biological systems. Biological structure, mechanisms, and underlying principles have the potential to feed new ideas to support the improvement of conventional robotic design and control. Such biological principles usually originate from animal or even plant models for robots that can sense, think, walk, swim, crawl, or fly. Thus, it is believed that these bio-inspired methods are becoming increasingly important in the face of complex applications. Bio-inspired robotics is leading to the study of innovative structures and computing with sensory–motor coordination and learning to achieve intelligence, flexibility, stability, and adaptation for emergent robotic applications, such as manipulation, learning, and control.

This Special Issue invites original papers of innovative ideas and concepts, new discoveries and improvements, and novel applications and business models relevant to the following selected topics of “Bio-inspired Robotics”.

Prof. Toshio Fukuda
Assoc. Prof. Qing Shi
Dr. Fei Chen
Prof. Wisnu Jatmiko
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Biomimetic robots
  • Bio-inspired manipulation
  • Bio-inspired learning and control
  • Bio-inspired sensory–motor coordination
  • Bio-inspired robot design and application
  • Bio-inspired computation for robots
  • Bio-inspired robotic locomotion
  • Cyber-physical biosystem
  • Bio-inspired robotic cell assembly and tissue fabrication
  • Symbiotic robotic system and swarm intelligence

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 14289 KiB  
Article
Soft Underwater Robot Actuated by Shape-Memory Alloys “JellyRobcib” for Path Tracking through Fuzzy Visual Control
by Christyan Cruz Ulloa, Silvia Terrile and Antonio Barrientos
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(20), 7160; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10207160 - 14 Oct 2020
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 5273
Abstract
Recent developments in bioinspired technologies combined with the advance of intelligent and soft materials have allowed soft robots to replicate the behavior of different animal species. These devices can perform complicated tasks such as reaching or adapting in constrained and unstructured environments. This [...] Read more.
Recent developments in bioinspired technologies combined with the advance of intelligent and soft materials have allowed soft robots to replicate the behavior of different animal species. These devices can perform complicated tasks such as reaching or adapting in constrained and unstructured environments. This article proposes a methodology to develop a soft robot called “JellyRobcib” inspired in morphology and behavior by jellyfish, using shape-memory alloy springs as actuators (as bio-muscles). Such actuators can move the jellyfish both vertically and laterally by applying closed-loop fuzzy and visual controls. Additionally, Computer-Assisted Designs and Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations have been carried out to validate the soft robot model. The results show that the robot movements are very close to the morphological behavior of a real jellyfish regarding the curves of displacements, speeds and accelerations, after performing several experiments for autonomous movement: vertical ascent, lateral movements and trajectory tracking, obtaining an accuracy of ±1479 cm and repeatability of 0.944 for lateral movements for fuzzy visual control. Furthermore, thermal measurements were taken throughout a given path, allowing the generation of temperature gradients within the underwater environment for monitoring purposes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Robotics II)
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20 pages, 18624 KiB  
Article
Framework for Developing Bio-Inspired Morphologies for Walking Robots
by Peter Billeschou, Nienke N. Bijma, Leon B. Larsen, Stanislav N. Gorb, Jørgen C. Larsen and Poramate Manoonpong
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(19), 6986; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10196986 - 7 Oct 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5786
Abstract
Morphology is a defining trait of any walking entity, animal or robot, and is crucial in obtaining movement versatility, dexterity and durability. Collaborations between biologist and engineers create opportunities for implementing bio-inspired morphologies in walking robots. However, there is little guidance for such [...] Read more.
Morphology is a defining trait of any walking entity, animal or robot, and is crucial in obtaining movement versatility, dexterity and durability. Collaborations between biologist and engineers create opportunities for implementing bio-inspired morphologies in walking robots. However, there is little guidance for such interdisciplinary collaborations and what tools to use. We propose a development framework for transferring animal morphologies to robots and substantiate it with a replication of the ability of the dung beetle species Scarabaeus galenus to use the same morphology for both locomotion and object manipulation. As such, we demonstrate the advantages of a bio-inspired dung beetle-like robot, ALPHA, and how its morphology outperforms a conventional hexapod by increasing the (1) step length by 50.0%, (2) forward and upward reach by 95.5%, and by lowering the (3) overall motor acceleration by 7.9%, and (4) step frequency by 21.1% at the same walking speed. Thereby, the bio-inspired robot has longer and fewer steps that lower fatigue-inducing impulses, a greater variety of step patterns, and can potentially better utilise its workspace to overcome obstacles. Hence, we demonstrate how the framework can be used to develop legged robots with bio-inspired morphologies that embody greater movement versatility, dexterity and durability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Robotics II)
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17 pages, 7118 KiB  
Article
Real-Time FPGA-Based Balance Control Method for a Humanoid Robot Pushed by External Forces
by Chih-Cheng Liu, Tsu-Tian Lee, Sheng-Ru Xiao, Yi-Chung Lin, Yi-Yang Lin and Ching-Chang Wong
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(8), 2699; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10082699 - 14 Apr 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3588
Abstract
In this paper, a real-time balance control method is designed and implemented on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chip for a small-sized humanoid robot. In the proposed balance control structure, there are four modules: (1) external force detection, (2) push recovery balance control, [...] Read more.
In this paper, a real-time balance control method is designed and implemented on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chip for a small-sized humanoid robot. In the proposed balance control structure, there are four modules: (1) external force detection, (2) push recovery balance control, (3) trajectory planning, and (4) inverse kinematics. The proposed method is implemented on the FPGA chip so that it can quickly respond to keep the small-sized humanoid robot balanced when it is pushed by external forces. A gyroscope and an accelerometer are used to detect the inclination angle of the robot. When the robot is under the action of an external force, an excessively large inclination angle may be produced, causing it to lose its balance. A linear inverted pendulum with a flywheel model is employed to estimate a capture point where the robot should step to maintain its balance. In addition, the central pattern generators (CPGs) with a sinusoidal function are adopted to plan the stepping trajectories. Some experimental results are presented to illustrate that the proposed real-time balance control method can effectively enable the robot to keep its balance to avoid falling down. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Robotics II)
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15 pages, 6592 KiB  
Article
Design, Construction, and Modeling of a BAUV with Propulsion System Based on a Parallel Mechanism for the Caudal Fin
by Cristina Tehaní Aparicio-García, Edisson A. Naula Duchi, Luis E. Garza-Castañón, Adriana Vargas-Martínez, J. Israel Martínez-López and Luis I. Minchala-Ávila
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(7), 2426; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10072426 - 2 Apr 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4272
Abstract
Traditional propulsion systems for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have several deficiencies, such as the invasion of the aquatic environment through the generation of noise and damage to the ecosystem, higher energy consumption, and a unidirectional thruster vector. The last characteristic constrains the maneuverability [...] Read more.
Traditional propulsion systems for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have several deficiencies, such as the invasion of the aquatic environment through the generation of noise and damage to the ecosystem, higher energy consumption, and a unidirectional thruster vector. The last characteristic constrains the maneuverability of the vehicle. This paper proposes a 3-DOF spherical 3 universal–cylindrical–universal and 1 spherical joint (3UCU-1S) parallel mechanism coupled to an artificial caudal fin to produce a vectored thruster for a biomimetic AUV (BAUV). First, the design and construction of the prototype are described. Then, the kinematics and dynamics analysis of the parallel mechanism is presented. Finally, a motion study shows the types of movements that can be achieved with the mechanism to perform flapping of the caudal fin in different directions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Robotics II)
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19 pages, 6637 KiB  
Article
A Hip Active Assisted Exoskeleton That Assists the Semi-Squat Lifting
by Wei Wei, Shijia Zha, Yuxuan Xia, Jihua Gu and Xichuan Lin
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(7), 2424; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10072424 - 2 Apr 2020
Cited by 42 | Viewed by 6242
Abstract
(1) Background: In the case of quick picking and heavy lifting, the carrying action results in a much more active myoelectric signal in the lower back than in an upright stationary one, and there is a high risk of back muscle injury without [...] Read more.
(1) Background: In the case of quick picking and heavy lifting, the carrying action results in a much more active myoelectric signal in the lower back than in an upright stationary one, and there is a high risk of back muscle injury without proper handling skills and equipment. (2) Methods: To reduce the risk of LBP during manual handing tasks, a hip active exoskeleton is designed to assist human manual lifting. A power control method is introduced into the control loop in the process of assisting human transportation. The power curve imitates the semi-squat movement of the human body as the output power of the hip joint. (3) Results: According to the test, the torque can be output according to the wearer’s movement. During the semi-squat lifting process, the EMG (electromyogram) signal of the vertical spine at L5/S1 was reduced by 30–48% and the metabolic cost of energy was reduced by 18% compared the situation of without EXO. (4) Conclusion: The exoskeleton joint output torque can change in an adaptive manner according to the angular velocity of the wearer’s joint. The exoskeleton can assist the waist muscles and the hip joint in the case of the reciprocating semi-squat lifting movement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Robotics II)
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26 pages, 826 KiB  
Article
Locomotion Control of Snake-Like Robot with Rotational Elastic Actuators Utilizing Observer
by Shunsuke Nansai, Takumi Yamato, Masami Iwase and Hiroshi Itoh
Appl. Sci. 2019, 9(19), 4012; https://doi.org/10.3390/app9194012 - 25 Sep 2019
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2412
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is designing a head control system capable of adapting to passive side-slipping. The environments in which snake-like robots are expected to be utilized generally have ground surface conditions with nonuniform frictional coefficients. In such conditions, the passive wheels [...] Read more.
The purpose of this paper is designing a head control system capable of adapting to passive side-slipping. The environments in which snake-like robots are expected to be utilized generally have ground surface conditions with nonuniform frictional coefficients. In such conditions, the passive wheels of the snake-like robot have a chance of side-slipping. To locomote the snake-like robot dexterously, a control system which adapts to such side-slipping is desired. There are two key points to realizing such a system: First, a dynamic model capable of representing the passive side-slipping must be formulated. A solution for the first key point is to develop a switching dynamic model for the snake-like robot, which switches depending on the occurrence of the side-slipping, by utilizing a projection method. The second key point is to adapt the control system’s behavior to side-slipping. An idea for such a solution is to include the side-slipping velocity in the weighting matrices. An algorithm to estimate the occurrence of side-slipping and the particular side-slipping link is constructed, to formulate the dynamic model depending on the actual side-slipping situation. The effectiveness of the designed Luenberger observer and the head control system for side-slipping adaptation is verified through numerical simulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Robotics II)
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Review

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25 pages, 975 KiB  
Review
Soft Rehabilitation and Nursing-Care Robots: A Review and Future Outlook
by Zengqi Peng and Jian Huang
Appl. Sci. 2019, 9(15), 3102; https://doi.org/10.3390/app9153102 - 31 Jul 2019
Cited by 33 | Viewed by 9392
Abstract
Rehabilitation and nursing-care robots have become one of the prevalent methods for assistant treatment of motor disorder patients in the field of medical rehabilitation. Traditional rehabilitation robots are mostly made of rigid materials, which significantly limits their application for medical rehabilitation and nursing-care. [...] Read more.
Rehabilitation and nursing-care robots have become one of the prevalent methods for assistant treatment of motor disorder patients in the field of medical rehabilitation. Traditional rehabilitation robots are mostly made of rigid materials, which significantly limits their application for medical rehabilitation and nursing-care. Soft robots show great potential in the field of rehabilitation robots because of their inherent compliance and safety when they interact with humans. In this paper, we conduct a systematic summary and discussion on the soft rehabilitation and nursing-care robots. This study reviews typical mechanical structures, modeling methods, and control strategies of soft rehabilitation and nursing-care robots in recent years. We classify soft rehabilitation and nursing-care robots into two categories according to their actuation technology, one is based on tendon-driven actuation and the other is based on soft intelligent material actuation. Finally, we analyze and discuss the future directions and work about soft rehabilitation and nursing-care robots, which can provide useful guidance and help on the development of advanced soft rehabilitation and nursing-care robots. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Robotics II)
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