Authors

Giovanni Soleti, Johannes Prechtl, Paolo Roberto Massenio, Matthias Baltes, Gianluca Rizzello

Abstract

In this paper, we propose an energy based control approach for a class of underactuated soft robotic systems. The considered case study consists of an elastic structure driven by soft dielectric elastomer actuators, and is able to achieve large bending displacement thanks to a bi-stable design concept. The bi-stability feature, however, causes the system to exhibit an unstable behavior in open-loop. After providing a port-Hamiltonian description of the soft robotic system, sufficient conditions for the existence of an energy based stabilizing controller are provided. A linear matrix inequality approach is then proposed to practically address the design of the controller gain. The effectiveness of the method is verified by means of simulation studies, conducted on an experimentally validated model of the real-life device.

Keywords

Dielectric elastomers; Lagrangian and Hamiltonian systems; Mechatronic systems; Passivity-based control; Smart Sensors and Actuators; Soft robotics; Underactuated robot

Citation

  • Journal: IFAC-PapersOnLine
  • Year: 2023
  • Volume: 56
  • Issue: 2
  • Pages: 7796–7801
  • Publisher: Elsevier BV
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.ifacol.2023.10.1153
  • Note: 22nd IFAC World Congress- Yokohama, Japan, July 9-14, 2023

BibTeX

@article{Soleti_2023,
  title={{Energy based control of a bi-stable and underactuated soft robotic system based on dielectric elastomer actuators*}},
  volume={56},
  ISSN={2405-8963},
  DOI={10.1016/j.ifacol.2023.10.1153},
  number={2},
  journal={IFAC-PapersOnLine},
  publisher={Elsevier BV},
  author={Soleti, Giovanni and Prechtl, Johannes and Massenio, Paolo Roberto and Baltes, Matthias and Rizzello, Gianluca},
  year={2023},
  pages={7796--7801}
}

Download the bib file

References

  • Baltes, M., Kunze, J., Prechtl, J., Seelecke, S. & Rizzello, G. A bi-stable soft robotic bendable module driven by silicone dielectric elastomer actuators: design, characterization, and parameter study. Smart Materials and Structures vol. 31 114002 (2022) – 10.1088/1361-665x/ac96df
  • Boyd, S., El Ghaoui, L., Feron, E. & Balakrishnan, V. Linear Matrix Inequalities in System and Control Theory. (1994) doi:10.1137/1.9781611970777 – 10.1137/1.9781611970777
  • Della Santina, Soft robots. Encyclopedia of Robotics (2020)
  • El-Atab, N. et al. Soft Actuators for Soft Robotic Applications: A Review. Advanced Intelligent Systems vol. 2 (2020) – 10.1002/aisy.202070102
  • Folkertsma, G. A. & Stramigioli, S. Energy in Robotics. Foundations and Trends® in Robotics vol. 6 140–210 (2017) – 10.1561/2300000038
  • Gu, G.-Y., Zhu, J., Zhu, L.-M. & Zhu, X. A survey on dielectric elastomer actuators for soft robots. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics vol. 12 011003 (2017) – 10.1088/1748-3190/12/1/011003
  • Lofberg, Yalmip: A toolbox for modeling and optimization in matlab. (2004)
  • Massenio, Nonlinear optimal control of a soft robotic structure actuated by dielectric elastomer artificial muscles. (2022)
  • Ortega, (2013)
  • Putting energy back in control. IEEE Control Systems vol. 21 18–33 (2001) – 10.1109/37.915398
  • Prechtl, Bistable actuation in multi-dof soft robotic modules driven by rolled dielectric elastomer actuators. (2021)
  • Rus, D. & Tolley, M. T. Design, fabrication and control of soft robots. Nature vol. 521 467–475 (2015) – 10.1038/nature14543
  • Sturm, J. F. Using SeDuMi 1.02, A Matlab toolbox for optimization over symmetric cones. Optimization Methods and Software vol. 11 625–653 (1999) – 10.1080/10556789908805766
  • Wang, J. & Chortos, A. Control Strategies for Soft Robot Systems. Advanced Intelligent Systems vol. 4 (2022) – 10.1002/aisy.202100165