Biologically Inspired Robotics

Yunhui Liu, Dong Sun, Yunhui Liu, Dong Sun

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781439854884
• eBook ISBN: 9781351833202
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Biotechnology in Medicine

Robotic engineering inspired by biology—biomimetics—has many potential applications: robot snakes can be used for rescue operations in disasters, snake-like endoscopes can be used in medical diagnosis, and artificial muscles can replace damaged muscles to recover the motor functions of human limbs. Conversely, the application of robotics technology to our understanding of biological systems and behaviors—biorobotic modeling and analysis—provides unique research opportunities: robotic manipulation technology with optical tweezers can be used to study the cell mechanics of human red blood cells, a surface electromyography sensing system can help us identify the relation between muscle forces and hand movements, and mathematical models of brain circuitry may help us understand how the cerebellum achieves movement control.

Biologically Inspired Robotics contains cutting-edge material—considerably expanded and with additional analysis—from the 2009 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO). These 16 chapters cover both biomimetics and biorobotic modeling/analysis, taking readers through an exploration of biologically inspired robot design and control, micro/nano bio-robotic systems, biological measurement and actuation, and applications of robotics technology to biological problems.

Contributors examine a wide range of topics, including:

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• A method for controlling the motion of a robotic snake
• The design of a bionic fitness cycle inspired by the jaguar
• The use of autonomous robotic fish to detect pollution
• A noninvasive brain-activity scanning method using a hybrid sensor
• A rehabilitation system for recovering motor function in human hands after injury
• Human-like robotic eye and head movements in human–machine interactions

A state-of-the-art resource for graduate students and researchers.

1

Introduction to Biologically Inspired Robotics

Yunhui Liu

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, China

Dong Sun

City University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, China

CONTENTS

1.1 What Is Biologically Inspired Robotics?

1.2 History

1.3 Biologically Inspired Robot Design

1.4 Biologically Inspired Robot Control

1.5 Biologically Inspired Actuation and Sensing

1.6 Conclusion

References

Abstract

This chapter gives a brief introduction to biologically inspired robotics. We will discuss what biological inspired robotics is, its major topics, and brief history. Some well-known biologically inspired robots and technology will be also introduced.

1.1 What Is Biologically Inspired Robotics?

Biologically inspired robotics is an interdisciplinary subject of robotics and biology and consists of mainly two broad areas: biomimetics and bio-robotic modeling/analysis Biomimetics draws inspiration from biology, and its primary concern is the application of biological ideas and phenomena to engineering problems in robotics. The topics cover almost every technical aspect of robotics including biologically inspired design, motion control, sensing, and actuation of robotic systems. A typical example of biomimetic robots is the humanoid robot, which is analogous with a human being in appearance and behavior (Figure 1.1). Bio-robotic modeling/analysis is the application of robotic models and principles to address biological issues such as recognition processes of the human brain, behaviors of animals and insects, etc. For example, by using a model of a biomimetic robotic fish, it is possible to study the swimming dynamics of fish; it may be possible to model sensory motor control of human arms using a bionic arm.

FIGURE 1.1
The humanoid robot, HRP-2 developed at AIST, Japan.

1.2 History

Humans have tried to create mechanical systems that mimic the behaviors of animals and other living creatures for a long time. The history can be traced back to development of the mechanical drink-serving waitress and musical players by Arab scholar and craftsman Al-Jazari in the thirteenth century and mechanical puppets or dolls such as the well-known Japanese karakuri ningyo in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Probably the most famous example is the tremendous effort made to development of flying machines in the early twentieth century.

Designing robots that mimic animals and other living creatures dates back to the 1940s and 1950s (Beer 2009). The robotic tortoises developed by W. Gray Walter (Walter 1963) are most closely related to biologically inspired robotics. The tortoises are driven by motorized wheels and equipped with a light sensor and touch sensor. They are mobile robots indeed! When talking about the history of biomimetic robotics, it is necessary to note the work of Ichiro Kato’s group at Waseda University in the early 1970s on design and control of biped robots (http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanoid_robot). They developed the first biped robot, WaBOT-1, in 1973 and a musician robot that played the piano in 1984. Their work laid the foundation for the research and development of present-day humanoid robots. Since the early 1980s, inspired by motion of snakes and spiders, Hirose and his group have designed several snake robots and legged robots (Hirose and Yamda 2009). Figure 1.2 shows the latest design of a snake robot created at the Shenyang Institute of Automation (China; Z. Liu et al. 2006). In 1997, Honda presented the first humanoid robot, Asimo, that truly has a humanoid appearance and integrates computer, control, sensing systems, power, and into a single stand-alone body (Hirai 1997). Since then, several humanoid robots, such as the Sony humanoid robot QRIO (Movellan et al. 2004), the AIST humanoid robot HRP-2 (Kaneko et al. 2004; Figure 1.1), and the BIT humanoid robot BHR-2 (Huang et al. 2005), have been developed in Japan, Europe, and China. The early biomimetic robots for entertainment include the robotic dog AIBO developed by Sony and the seal-mimetic robot PARO by Shibata (2004; Figure 1.3). With the advancement of sensing, actuation, and information technology, biologically inspired robotics is advancing rapidly with extensive study by robotics researchers and increasing investment from industries and governments worldwide. Different robots or robotic systems inspired by animals, insects, and fish have been developed. Figure 1.4 shows a robotic fish developed by Hu at the University of Essex (J. Liu, Dukes, and Hu 2005). Biomimetics has become one of the fastest growing topics in robotics in recent years.

FIGURE 1.2
Robotic snake developed by Z. Liu et al. (2006) at the Shenyang Institute of Automation and Ritsumeikan University.

FIGURE 1.3
Seal-mimetic robot PARO developed by Shibata (2004) at AIST, Japan.

FIGURE 1.4
Robotic fish developed by J. Liu et al. (2005) at the University of Essex.

1.3 Biologically Inspired Robot Design

Designing mechanisms for robots that mimic the motion of animals and other living creatures is one of the core problems in biologically inspired robotics. The mechanisms of movement vary for different animals and other living creatures Many mammals, such as cats, tigers, horses, etc., use four legs to move around, but humans rely on two legs to move Spiders use legs to climb, but snakes climb without legs. The challenging issue here is how to realize biological movement using mechanical structures. Biological motion is generated by the interaction of muscles, joints, and tissues of a continuum deformable body. There are no actuators that are as sophisticated as muscles, materials that are as soft as tissues, or joints that generate the complicated yet smooth motion that human and animal joints perform. Therefore, it is crucial to develop simplified mechanisms that can generate motion similar to biological motion.

For example, a snake moves forward and backward using the frictional force between its body and the ground Its body is a deformable continuum whose geometric shape is used to control the frictional force. The snake can change its speed by changing the shape of its body. Because it is difficult to design a mechanical structure that can deform freely and continuously by active control, existing robotic snakes employ a series of movable segments that are connected by a joint (Figure 1.5). Moreover, the snake relies on its skin to slide on the ground, and such skin cannot be made by current technologies, so wheels are attached to the segments. If the connection joint allows the rotation about one axis, the robotic snake moves in a plane. If the connection joint is a spherical joint that allows rotation about two perpendicular axes, the robotic snake can move in three-dimensional space; for example, to climb a tree.

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Contributors
• 1 Introduction to Biologically Inspired Robotics
• 2 CPG-Based Control of Serpentine Locomotion of a Snake-Like Robot
• 3 Analysis and Design of a Bionic Fitness Cycle
• 4 Human-Inspired Hyper Dynamic Manipulation
• 5 A School of Robotic Fish for Pollution Detection in Port
• 6 Development of a Low-Noise Bio-Inspired Humanoid Robot Neck
• 7 Automatic Single-Cell Transfer Module
• 8 Biomechanical Characterization of Human Red Blood Cells with Optical Tweezers
• 9 Nanorobotic Manipulation for a Single Biological Cell
• 10 Measurement of Brain Activity Using Optical and Electrical Methods
• 11 Bowel Polyp Detection in Capsule Endoscopy Images with Color and Shape Features
• 12 Classification of Hand Motion Using Surface EMG Signals
• 13 Multifunctional Actuators Utilizing Magnetorheological Fluids for Assistive Knee Braces
• 14 Mathematical Modeling of Brain Circuitry during Cerebellar Movement Control
• 15 Development of Hand Rehabilitation System Using Wire-Driven Link Mechanism for Paralysis Patients
• 16 A Test Environment for Studying the Human-Likeness of Robotic Eye Movements
• Index