Development of soft robot for the deep sea - using non-linear control for the artificial muscles -

• Project/Area Number: 18K04577
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 24020:Marine engineering-related
• Research Institution: Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: Tahara Junichiro 東京海洋大学, 学術研究院, 教授 (30280366)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 小池 雅和 東京海洋大学, 学術研究院, 准教授 (70756337)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2022)
• Budget Amount: ¥4,420,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,020,000); Fiscal Year 2020: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000); Fiscal Year 2019: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000); Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
• Keywords: 非線形同期 / 人工筋肉 / ソフトロボティクス / Van del Pol 振動子 / Van der Pol / SWARM / McKibben / Kestrel Gripper / Leaky integrate-and-fire / LIF / VDP / 非線形同期制御

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We conducted research on the control of artificial muscles using nonlinear synchronization. Various methods have been proposed to control artificial muscles because they are simple in structure and can easily hold soft objects. However, control is highly nonlinear and problematic. However, if it can be realized, it is expected to be applied to marine equipment and marine robots. Therefore, we propose a method of creating several types of artificial muscles and realizing periodic motion using nonlinear synchronization. This time, the Van del Pol method was used for nonlinear synchronization. We investigated the method of synchronizing the muscles with each method. The method using air cylinders was able to synchronize the muscles without any problem. On the other hand, the artificial muscle method has not been realized due to sensor problems. The research is still ongoing.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

シリコンで作成された人工筋肉をエア・水圧等を使った制御でロボットハンドや脚・フィン等を実現するための制御手法についての研究を実施した。シミュレーションにおいては非線形同期を使って三相同期や同期・逆相同期等が発生する事を確認できた。また実験装置としてエアシリンダで閉リンクを構成しシミュレーションと同様な動作を実現できた。次にマッキベン型の人工筋肉が生産性が良いことに注目し基礎試験を実施した。
本研究は将来ににおいて活躍が期待される水中ロボットのアクチュエータの制御手法として期待できることが示された。

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Three-Axis Vibration Suppression Control Of Pneumatic Isolation Table With Single Servo Valve Using Cyclic Control Input (2019)
  • Author(s): M.Koike, H.Ginya, F.Zhang, J.Tahara
  • Journal Title: Proc. of The IASTED International Conference on Mechatronics and Control (MC2019) Volume: MC2019 Pages: 1-8
  • DOI: 10.2316/p.2019.860-006
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Presentation] Simulation of swarm robot synchronization using VDP oscillator (2023)
  • Author(s): Julie Fromager, Junichiro Tahara, Morito Makoto and Shun Fujii
  • Organizer: AROB-ISBC-SWARM2023
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Sea urchin habitat density survey test in a coastal area using a μ-ASV (2023)
  • Author(s): Makoto Morito, Junichiro Tahara, Shun Fujii, Hiroshi Matsunaga, Kenichiro Sato
  • Organizer: AROB-ISBC-SWARM2023
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Underwater Distance Measurement Using Machine Learning (2021)
  • Author(s): Chai Jiayu, Junichiro Tahara
  • Organizer: ロボティクス・メカトロニクス 講演会 2021 in Osaka
• [Presentation] Modeling of μ-ASV for Motion Control using Neural Network (2021)
  • Author(s): Shun Fujii, Yamato Kawamura, Junichiro Tahara
  • Organizer: ISOPE-2021 Rhodes
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] パルス結合型 van der Pol 方程式を用いた移動ロボットのシミュレーション (2021)
  • Author(s): 小野聡太郎，田原淳一郎，小池雅和，加藤哲，梶原秀一
  • Organizer: 第8回計測自動制御学会制御部門マルチシンポジウム