Abstract
Soft modular robotics is a research field that pursues body flexibility while maintaining reconfigurability by employing flowable or soft materials as the main constituent materials of modular robots. In soft modular robotics, a hollow structure made of silicone is created, and the inside of the structure is pressurized to generate stretching and bending motions as an actuator module. In general, it is important to design modular robots with reconfigurability, various deformability, and environmental adaptability. Modularization of soft actuators with reconfigurable and diverse deformability allows morphology to be tailored to the desired task. We have developed a soft actuator module, MORI-A, that combines hollow silicone and 3D printable deformable structures (uniaxial shrinking, bending, shearing, uniform contracting, and no deformation). This study proposes a functional extension of the module “MORI-A FleX” for application as a wearable device for physical rehabilitation using this MORI-A module. Our MORI-A FleX connector is a thermoplastic polyurethane flexible connector that can be coated with materials that offer different textures to achieve excellent connectivity and texture variation. We have assembled MORI-A Flex as a rehabilitation device for hand work, assisting the fingers to move harmoniously and enabling them to grasp a slippery, brittle half-boiled egg and a PET bottle containing 200 ml of water in a deactivated state.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cheney, N., MacCurdy, R., Clune, J., Lipson, H.: Unshackling evolution: evolving soft robots with multiple materials and a powerful generative encoding. ACM SIGEVOlution 7(1), 11–23 (2014)
Kriegman, S., Walker, S., Shah, D., Levin, M., Kramer-Bottiglio, R., Bongard, J.: Automated shapeshifting for function recovery in damaged robots. In: arXiv:1905.09264 (2019)
Vergara, A., Lau, Y., Mendoza-Garcia, R.F., Zagal, J.C.: Soft modular robotic cubes: toward replicating morphogenetic movements of the embryo. PLoS ONE 12(1), e0169179 (2017)
Lee, J., Kim, W., Choi, W., Cho, K.: Soft robotic blocks: introducing SoBL, a fast-build modularized design block. IEEE Robot. Autom. Magaz. 23(3), 30–41 (2016)
Nemitz, M.P., Mihaylov, P., Barraclough, T.W., Ross, D., Stokes, A.A.: Soft robotic blocks: using voice coils to actuate modular soft robots: wormbot, an example. Soft Rob. 3(4), 198–204 (2016)
Zhang, Y., et al.: A mechatronics-embedded pneumatic soft modular robot powered via single air tube. Appl. Sci. 9(11), 2260 (2019)
Zou, J., Lin, Y., Ji, C., Yang, H.: A reconfigurable omnidirectional soft robot based on caterpillar locomotion. Soft Rob. 5(2), 164–174 (2018)
Sui, X., Cai, H., Bie, D., Zhang, Y., Zhao, J., Zhu, Y.: Automatic generation of locomotion patterns for soft modular reconfigurable robots. Appl. Sci. 10(1), 294 (2020)
Morin, S.A., et al.: Using “Click-e-Bricks’’ to make 3D elastomeric structures. Adv. Mater. 26(34), 5991–5999 (2014)
Morin, S.A., et al.: Elastomeric tiles for the fabrication of inflatable structures. Adv. Func. Mater. 24(35), 5541–5549 (2014)
Ogawa, J., Mori, T., Watanabe, Y., Kawakami, M., Shiblee, M.D.N.I., Furukawa, H.: MORI-A: soft vacuum-acctuated module with 3D-printable deformation structure. IEEE Robot. Autom. Lett. 7(2), 2495–2502 (2022)
Hironari, T., Shuichi, W., Koichi, S.: Development of hand rehabilitation system to prevent contracture for finger joints based on the therapy of occupational therapists (Massege hand and range of motion exercises using pneumatic soft actuators) . Trans. JSME 80(820), 348-348 (2014). (in Japanese)
Robertson, M.A., Kara, O.C., Paik, J.: Soft pneumatic actuator-driven origami-inspired modular robotic “pneumagami’’. Int. J. Robot. Res. 40(1), 72–85 (2021)
Yiyue, L., et al.: Digital fabrication of pneumatic actuators with integrated sending by machine knitting. In: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1-13 (2022)
Al-Fahaam, H., Davis, S., Nefti-Meziani, S., Theodoridis, T.: Novel soft bending actuator-based power augmentation hand exoskeleton controlled by human intention. Intell. Serv. Robot. 11(3), 247–268 (2018)
Xie, D., Ma, Z., Liu, J., Zuo, S.: Pneumatic artificial muscle based on novel winding method. Actuators 10(5), 100 (2021)
Herr, H.M., Koronbluh, R.D.: New horizons for orthotic and prosthetic technology: artificial muscle for ambulation. In: Smart Structures and Materials 2004. Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD), vol. 5385, pp. 1-9 (2004)
Dong, T., Zhang, X., Liu, T.: Artificial muscles for wearable assistance and rehabilitation. Front. Inf. Technol. Electron. Eng. 19(11), 1303–1315 (2018)
Al-Fahaam, H., Davis, S., Nefti-Meziani, S.: The design and mathematical modelling of novel extensor bending pneumatic artificial muscles (EBPAMs) for soft exoskeletons. Robot. Auton. Syst. 99, 63–74 (2018)
Pan, M., et al.: Soft actuators and robotic devices for rehabilitation and assistance. Adv. Intell. Syst. 4(4), 2100140 (2022)
Mendoza, M.J., et al.: A vacuum-powered artificial muscle designed for infant rehabilitation. Micromachines 12(8), 971 (2021)
Touma, T.: Complex of Parallel crosses structure. J. Imaging Soc. Japan 58, 406–414 (2019)
Yokoo, T., Hidema, R., Furukawa, H.: Smart lenses developed with high-strength and shape memory gels. e-J. Surf. Sci. Nanotechnol. 10, 243–247 (2012)
Acknowledgement
This work was supported in part by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP18H05471, JP19H01122, JP21H04936, JP21K14040, JP22K17972, JST -OPERA Program Grant Number JPMJOP1844, Moonshot Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research and Development Program (MS508, Grant Number JPJ009237) and the Cabinet Office (CAO), Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP), “An intelligent knowledge processing infrastructure, integrating physical and virtual domains”,”Intensive Support for Young Promising Researchers” (funding agency: NEDO)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Abe, S., Ogawa, J., Watanabe, Y., Shiblee, M.N.I., Kawakami, M., Furukawa, H. (2024). Application of 3D Printed Vacuum-Actuated Module with Multi-soft Material to Support Handwork Rehabilitation. In: Bourgeois, J., et al. Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems. DARS 2022. Springer Proceedings in Advanced Robotics, vol 28. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51497-5_30
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51497-5_30
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-51496-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-51497-5
eBook Packages: Intelligent Technologies and RoboticsIntelligent Technologies and Robotics (R0)