(Press-News.org)
The ability of the human wrist to rotate around the forearm axis in 2 directions is crucial for many daily activities. This rotation, limited to a range of approximately [-90°, 90°], restricts the wrist's capacity to execute complex operational tasks. For example, when we open or lock a door with a key, our wrist performs a large rotational movement. When we screw, the wrist needs to twist 180° several times. However, due to the limited rotation angle, the hand needs to leave the key or screwdriver several times to complete the entire work process. In order to realize large rotation ratio in a single actuator, a research team from Zhejiang University introduced a wrist-inspired magneto-pneumatic hybrid-driven soft actuator with bidirectional torsion capabilities based on the Kresling origami unit.
The team published their findings in Cyborg and Bionic Systems on March 28, 2024.
To comprehensively understand and predict the behavior of this actuator, researchers developed both kinematic and quasistatic mechanical analysis models. These models facilitate a detailed examination of the actuator’s mechanical properties.
To achieve bidirectional bending, researchers redesigned Kresling crease pattern by adding a crease in each parallelogram. The flat panels of the Kresling pattern are made of polyvinyl chloride, the inner cavity is airtight, a magnet is placed on the top panel. With design of the soft actuator, bidirectional torsion can be achieved by magneto-pneumatic hybrid actuation method. This actuation method is experimentally validated, demonstrating the actuator's ability to maintain three steady states and its capability for bidirectional torsion deformation.
First, an external magnetic field in the plane of the top panel is applied to the actuator, which results in an in-plane torque. Then, the inner cavity of the actuator is vacuumed. The combined action of vacuum pressure and torque until it completely folded. The actuator can return to the initial configuration or turn to the opposite direction when the magnetic field and inner pressure are adjusted.
To verify the quasistatic characteristics of the soft actuator, researchers conducted a series of experiments, including compression experiment, actuation experiment and fatigue characteristics experiments.
The unique design of this actuator allows it to achieve a large rotation angle through bidirectional torsion motion using just a single module. Further exploration into the actuator's design reveals that by increasing the number of sides (n) of the section polygon, an actuator capable of achieving even larger rotation angles can be developed. An actuator with six sides (n=6) is shown to achieve a rotation angle of 239.5°, and its rotation ratio exceeding 277°, about twice the largest one reported in other literature.
The creation of an actuator with superior torsion motion capabilities compared to the human wrist will hold promising application prospects in various complex operational tasks in soft robotics. The bidirectional torsion motion of soft actuator will enhance the soft robot’s flexibility and maneuverability.
Authors of the paper include Yan Xu, Kaiwen Ju, and Chao Zhang.
This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 91748209 and 11402229) and the specialized research projects of Huanjiang Laboratory.
END
A research team at DZNE has been awarded around one million US dollars for the development of an innovative, AI-based method to measure the “choroid plexus” three-dimensionally in human brain scans. These finely branched brain structures are the main sources of the “cerebrospinal fluid” and thus of great significance for the function of the brain and spinal cord. It is also assumed that they play a role in various neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s. The research project is funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The “cerebrospinal fluid” (CSF) is ...
This report presents gained knowledge identified at two events during the Greenland Science Week on the 7th of November 2023 in Nuuk, Greenland:
The 1st Biennial Greenland Marine Research Seminar and
The workshop on Status and Development for East Greenland Waters
Both events had a forward-looking focus, to gain insight and knowledge from stakeholders and other parties, to be implemented in future research. The marine research seminar also served as a follow-up on earlier ECOTIP and Face-It stakeholder involvement in Greenland and was an opportunity to share project results and recommendations ...
Highlights:
In lab experiments, copper shows antimicrobial properties, including against pathogens like Salmonella.
Copper beads in animal feeds may improve gut health in pigs.
A new bead design effectively delivers copper to the lower intestine.
New findings show copper beads influence the microbial makeup in a pig’s gut, but more work is needed to optimize the benefits.
Washington, D.C. — April 17, 2024 — Copper is a natural antimicrobial material that, when added to pig feed, may promote the growth and ...
Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science is among eight university teams in the United States selected to work with NASA and the U.S. military to foster innovation and expertise in the small satellite sector.
NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) is partnering with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force for the 2024 Mission Concept Program. A CubeSat is among a class of research spacecraft called nanosatellites about the size of a 4-inch cube and typically weighing less than 5 pounds.
Running from May through August, the University Nanosatellite ...
Waltham — April 10, 2024 — The nursing work environment, nurse education, and staffing levels are independent factors affecting hospital scores on a key measure of patient-centered care – with significant implications for reimbursements, reports a study in Medical Care. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
"Our results provide evidence-based guidance about which modifiable aspects of hospital nursing are likely to improve patient experience ratings," said Kathleen E. Fitzpatrick Rosenbaum, PhD, RN, CCRN, of Yale University.
How do nursing factors affect HCAHPS ...
Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have developed a powerful, new technique to generate “movies” of changing protein structures and speeds of up to 50 frames per second.
Senior author, Dr. Simon Scheuring, the Distinguished Professor of Anesthesiology Research at Weill Cornell Medicine and colleagues developed the new approach to gain a better understanding of how biological molecules change structurally over time. Although investigators in this field routinely image static proteins and other molecules finely ...
Chattering squirrels, charming coypus, and tail-slapping beavers — along with some other rodents — have orange-brown front teeth. Researchers have published high-resolution images of rodent incisors in ACS Nano, providing an atomic-level view of the teeth’s ingenious enamel and its coating. They discovered tiny pockets of iron-rich materials in the enamel that form a protective shield for the teeth but, importantly, don’t contribute to the orange-brown hue — new insights that could improve human dentistry.
Human and animal teeth are coated in a ...
DALLAS, April 17, 2024 — Language barriers, longstanding structural racism barriers, underrepresentation within the ranks of health care professionals and higher than average rates of poor health risk factors are among the alarming trends that continue to impede quality health care outcomes for Hispanic Latino people living in the United States. The American Heart Association, celebrating 100 years of lifesaving service as the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all, is making strides ...
Glenview, Illinois – Esha Kapania, MD, will be the mentee for the inaugural year of the 2024 APCCMPD and CHEST Medical Educator Scholar Diversity Fellowship.
Designed to pair a fellow-in-training with an established medical educator, the unique scholarship was launched in August by the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) and the Association of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Program Directors (APCCMPD) to improve diversity in pulmonary and critical care medical education.
The program focuses ...
PULLMAN, Wash. – While the electronic tongue bears little physical resemblance to its namesake, the strand-like sensory probes of the “e-tongue” still outperformed human senses when detecting contaminated wine in a recent study.
In an experiment at Washington State University, the e-tongue identified signs of microorganisms in white wine within a week after contamination—four weeks before a human panel noticed the change in aroma. This was also before those microbes could be grown from the wine in a petri-dish. Winemakers traditionally rely on these two methods, sniffing the wine and petri-dish testing, to ...
